Roscommon brilliantly found their second wind at Dr Hyde Park to keep alive their league final hopes with a stunning 2-20 to 0-20 victory.

In a game played in biblical conditions - all the was missing was Noah and his arc – the Rossies saw their half-time cushion pared by ten down to the minimum but finished strongly into the driving wind and rain with goals in either half from Diarmuid Murtagh and Conor Hand ultimately proving decisive.

Stiff breeze aiding them, Roscommon compiled an eleven-point interval advantage, 1-13 to 0-5, Murtagh with the opening goal after Enda Smith used his accuracy and the elements to nail a couple of two-pointers.

The match caught fire for the first time in the 13th minute when Murtagh got on the end of a sweeping Rossies move involving Senan Lambe, Patrick Gavin and Daire Clegg to blast emphatically to the net and give the hosts a 1-4 to 0-2 lead.

The gap was out to eight before Michael Murphy tapped over a gimme free ten minutes from the break, Lambe, Murtagh (two-pointer free), Robert Heneghan and corner back Colm Neary (twice) adding to the Roscommon tally before Jason McGee pulled a goal effort wide at the other end.

Goalkeeper Gavin Mulreany struck Donegal’s fourth point from a ‘45’ after Conor Carroll denied Conor McCahill, Murphy splitting the posts to bring the first-half scoring to a close.

With heavy rain returning and the wind into which the Rossies were now facing intensifying when the action resumed, Shea Malone and Eoghán Bán Gallagher quickly got the Tir Chonail men up and running again with points, Jason McGee whacking over a nonchalant two-pointer as the comeback victory started to look ominous…

Malone and Michael Langan nailed further Donegal doubles either side of a Keith Doyle point for the home side, Hand and Enda Smith with two more for the Rossies after McGee and Conor O’Donnell had closed the gap to two. Finbarr Roarty became the latest Donegal player to register from outside the arc, replying to a Murtagh free – 1-17 to 0-17 with 16 minutes to go.

Peadar Mogan fisted the next Donegal score over from a tight angle and Lambe cancelled out McGee’s point with Jamie Brennan atoning for a missed goal chance with the point that had the minimum between the teams again on 62 minutes.

Five minutes from the end, Smith again gave his side the merest of breathing space when fisting over at the end of a lung-bursting run. Refusing to wilt in the face of incessant pressure, Roscommon moved five clear a minute later courtesy of Hand’s palmed goal, Murtagh sweeping over a free to make it 2-20 to 0-20 three minutes shy of the hooter.

Roscommon held as Donegal lost for the first time, setting up an epic last round of games in Division One.

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