Roscommon got back to winning ways in Allianz Football League Division 2 by defeating Cork 2-21 to 0-13 at SuperValu Páirc Uí Chaoimh.
Davy Burke and his players went to Leeside on the back of a shock loss to Meath and a Ben O'Carroll inspired performance made sure of the result with 1-03 tallied by a forward fresh from guiding UCD to the Sigerson Cup final.
The Rebels simply had to win after leaving Monaghan empty handed last week, and John Cleary’s side laid down an early marker by taking a 0-5 to 0-3 lead early on.
Mark Cronin and Cathail O’Mahony put the ball over the bar during that burst, with the Nemo Rangers club-stalwart raising a white and orange flag from frees.
Once Roscommon got going, the general feeling inside the ground was that a victory was inevitable, especially with a comfortable 0-12 to 0-8 advantage at the break.
A Diarmuid Murtagh free is what ensured parity, and the forward followed that up by kicking his side in front at the Blackrock End.
O’Carroll was the next player in a yellow and blue jersey hit the target, and back-to-back orange flags from Diarmuid Murtagh made the scoreboard read 0-11 to 0-8 as half-time approached.
By the time the buzzer went, Cork were struggling to create clear-cut chances after tallying five wides while Roscommon padded their cushion with Conor Hand splitting the posts.
The game restarted with Ultan Harney getting in on the action, and Hand followed that up by creating a five point gap with an orange flag.
Cork hit back with a Cronin free and Chris Óg Jones getting in to score from play, but it never felt like the spark to ignite a great comeback.
Roscommon just looked comfortable, both in and out of possession as their hosts struggled to get a clear sight of the posts.
When they broke, a foul was spotted inside the square meaning a penalty at the Blackrock End and Enda Smith sent Patrick Doyle the wrong way to make the scoreboard read 1-16 to 0-11 midway through the half.
Ciarain Murtagh replaced Cian McKeon after the break and the St Faithleach's faithful had to wait until the 59th minute to raise his first white flag.
Roscommon closed the game by latching onto a misplaced pass and O’Carroll used the space created to get a breakaway goal at the Blackrock End at the 66th minute.
Key: tp - two-point score; tpf - two-point free; tpm - two-point mark
Cork: Patrick Doyle; Seán Brady, Daniel O’Mahony, Neil Lordan, Brian O’Driscoll, Rory Maguire, Mattie Taylor, Ian Maguire, Colm O’Callaghan (0-0-1(1F)), Paul Walsh (0-0-1), Tommy Walsh, Seán McDonnell, Mark Cronin (0-2(1f)-4(3f), Chris Óg Jones (0-0-1), Cathail O’Mahony (0-0-1).
Subs: Sean Powter (0-0-1)for Walsh (43); Ruairi Deane for O’Mahony (45), Sean Walsh for McDonnell (59), Conor Cahalane for Paul Walsh (60), Hugh O’Connor for Og Jones (68).
Roscommon: Conor Carroll; Pearse Frost, John McManus, Niall Higgins, Shane Cunnane (0-0-1(1m), David Murray, Robbie Dolan (0-0-1), Enda Smith (1(1p)-0-0), Keith Doyle, Ben O’Carroll (1-0-3), Ultan Harney (0-0-1), Conor Hand (0-0-6), Diarmuid Murtagh (0-2(2f)-3(2f), Cian McKeon, Ciaran Lennon.
Subs: Ciarain Murtagh (0-0-1) for McKeon (35); Ronan Daly for McManus (46), Eddie Nolan for Harney (52), Aaron Brady (0-0-1) for Dolan (67).
Referee: Johnny Murphy (Limerick)
