Erne Gaels 1-10 Roslea 0-09

A superb goal from Erne Gael’s lively wing forward Dan McCann was the key score in this ill-tempered affair where both sides finished with 14 men, at Pairc na hEirne.

McCann finished a lightning six-man move with a low drive to the Roslea net in the 40th minute to put the home side into a pretty emphatic 1-10 to 0-05 lead.

But they failed to build on that platform as gutsy Roslea, who lost midfielder Adam Treanor in the sixth minute to a second yellow card dug deep and were pressing hard at the finish.

The loss of Treanor had a big bearing on the game coming so soon in the match.

Erne Gaels lost Tommy McCaffrey in identical circumstances (a second yellow) seven minutes from time as tempers frayed on both sidelines as this feisty affair threatened to boil over in the final frantic moments.

On balance, the home side deserved their victory, but boss Declan Bonner will be less than happy with nine wides and the final pass frequently going astray.

And, for the second week in a row they could only manage one point in the second half.

Roslea, who were minus Sean and Seamie Quigley can take more positives from this result as they made light of the extra man for long periods.

Erne Gaels were minus Brian Mullin of their available players while Oisin Kelm and Ryan Lyons have long-term injuries.

And they did not fold when McCann’s cracker seemed to have sealed the deal.

Erne Gaels began brightly and Aoghan Kelm pointed after 19 seconds.

Eamon Óg McGee broke through and had a half chance of a goal but elected to punch over the bar to put them into a 0-02 to 0-00 lead.

It was then Roslea lost midfielder Treanor amid loud protests from their bench.

Barry McCann made it 0-03 to 0-00 from a placed ball.

But Roslea did not buckle, and Caolan Rooney pointed from a free.

Brendan Sherlock left just a point between the sides and Niall Cosgrove levelled matters at 0-03 each in the ninth minute.

But they failed to score for the rest of the half as the Gaels had their best period and the points flowed from Barry McCann, Greg McGloin, Dan McCann, Aoghan Kelm (0-02) and Shane Rooney who later went off injured.

Diarmuid McAleer landed two frees for Roslea whose mini revival was blunted by McCann’s great goal.

It looked bleak for the visitors as they trailed by 1-10 to 0-05 but they exerted pressure as McAleer tapped over the points.

Kelm got Erne Gael’s sole point from a free in the half but they also hit four wides.

Roslea were buoyed by the dismissal of McCaffrey and were on the attack but the Gaels held on for victory.

Speaking afterwards Declan Bonner said it was a “full-blooded affair and that is the type of test you need and we got it from Roslea".

“We probably should have kicked on a bit more when we were ahead in the second half and that was the most disappointing part.

“But the lads battled through, and we have picked up a number of injuries over the past few weeks but the important thing was to get over the line and we did that.

“They lost a man early on which was a blow to them, but it made them more difficult to break down as they sat deep.

“But we kept them in the game with the wides.

“But last week we were talking about not getting shots away but there is still a lot of work to be done.

“But the attitude of the lads is first class, and it is still a learning curve.”

Meanwhile, Roslea manager Ciaran Murphy was pleased with his side’s display given they had 14 men for 54 minutes.

“That was a massive loss to us so early on.

“We are delighted with our display and the character we showed.

“It was a real good game for us, and we are disappointed to lose, and we have some experience and that will stand to us for the future.

“We stayed in the game but gave away points before halftime and the goal was a killer and we thought there was a throw ball in it as well from our angle.

“But the boys fought back and we brought it back to four.”