February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Jack Flynn
Stamford 2-15, Roscommon 2-4
Stamford established themselves as a legitimate contender in Senior Football Div. I on Sunday by running roughshod over an overmatched Roscommon side for a well-deserved 2-15 to 2-4 victory.
“It was a tough game until the end, but we pulled away in the second half,” said Stamford’s Brian Martin, whose goal just before the half struck a killing blow to the heart of Roscommon.
The match began on a fairly even note, but Stamford quickly took control. An Aidan Creamer point was followed by a fine Jason Lawlor goal to give Stamford the early 4-point advantage.
A perfectly played ball from teammate Spike Martin found an onrushing Lawlor, who punched the ball into the net and past Roscommon goalkeeper Dave Simms.
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Richie Maher quickly responded for his side, scoring a goal of his own to make the score 1-1 to 1-0 in favor of Stamford. The goal was actually the product of a goalmouth scramble that somehow found its way into the net.
Stamford players protested the goal heartily, but their pleas to referee John Markey would only fall upon deaf ears.
But instead of falling apart in the face of their perceived misfortune, Stamford regrouped and began to take control in the match. One goal and nine points later, Roscommon stood on the wrong side of a 13-point gap.
Eight players scored on Stamford’s decisive run, but no score was more devastating than Brian Martin’s goal seconds before the halftime horn sounded. A long free from Spike Martin again found a Stamford attacker, and like Lawlor before him, Brian Martin punched the ball past Roscommon’s keeper and into the net.
The goal made the halftime tally 2-8 to 1-0 in favor of Stamford, making the second half little more than a required formality. Creamer and Richie Power put balls over the bar in the opening minutes of the second half to give Stamford its largest lead.
Just when it seemed that a stifling Stamford defense would never allow Roscommon to score again, Eoghan McGrath broke through by notching a point and making the score 2-10 to 1-1.
After Power restored Stamford’s 13-point advantage, Maher surprised everyone by scoring his second goal of the afternoon. Maher place a low shot in the bottom right corner of the net past a diving Tom McDonagh, which the keeper could not keep out of the goal.
Any thoughts of a Roscommon comeback, farfetched as they would have been, were quickly nipped in the bud by Stamford, as Spike Martin scored twice and Lawlor once to make the score 2-14 to 2-1. Roscommon picked up a few points late in the match to make the final tally a little more palatable for the losing side.
Afterward, Brian Martin commented on the importance of the games remaining on the schedule for Stamford if they harbor playoff aspirations.
‘We have to win,” he said. “Every game is like a final for us. If we lose one game, we’re out.”
If this match is truly indicative of the fight Stamford will put up when their backs are to the wall, they could be a very dangerous side come playoff time.