Roche Emmets 1-13 St. Kevin’s 1-10

Roche returned to winning ways in Division Two with a thrilling comeback triumph against St. Kevin’s at Páirc de Róiste on Saturday night.

An injury-time point by Dan O’Connell pulled Emmets back level in a game where the Philipstown men seemed likely winners before a wonderful Glen Stewart conversion and Barry O’Hare’s goal put Paul Grier’s men into an unassailable position.

The victory, the team’s sixth of the campaign, ensured the boys in blue ended their two-game losing sequence to maintain their position as league leaders.

After a tight opening, the visitors began to exert their influence, much of their good play going through Cian Callan. Their tackling was robust, and gaps were few and far between as Roche moved forward, but the play was slow from the home outfit and the ball was gifted away on far too many occasions.

Ultimately, the mid-Louth men, under the tutelage of former Roche boss Niall Callan for the first time, led 1-6 to 0-5 at half-time.

And the gap reached five before Emmets kicked into some sort of coherent gear. O’Hare was keeping Roche in it from frees, although the tide was turning even prior to the dismissal of Kevin’s full-forward Karl Martin on a second yellow card.

O’Hare cut the gap to one entering the game’s dying embers and with the table toppers able to effectively confine Kevin’s to their own half, an equaliser seemed inevitable, a neat pass from Roche’s leading marksman finding O’Connell inside the semi-circle and the No14 swung over to draw the teams on terms, 1-9 to 0-12.

In the next attack, Stewart, back into the fray after going off earlier through injury, split the posts with a beauty from the right wing – and once O’Hare turned his man and shot low to the net, the points were safely tucked away.

Tempers frayed in the almost 11 minutes of second half stoppage time – Roche rather harshly finishing with 13 players after Liam Carthy (second yellow) and O’Hare (black) got their marching orders.

Roche: Jamie O’Hare; Gerard Browne, Peter Lynch, Harry O’Connell; Seán Dawe, James McDonnell, Caoimhín Reilly; Glen Stewart (0-2), Martin Carroll; Shane Byrne, Kevin Callaghan, Eugene Murray; Mark Byrne (0-1), Dan O’Connell (0-1), Barry O’Hare (1-8)

Subs: Liam Carthy (0-1) for Stewart, Mark Reynolds for Callaghan, Robert Mackin for M Byrne, Stewart for Murray

Referee: Kevin Carroll