Daire Keenan fired St. John's Athletic to back-to-back Roscommon and District Premier League titles.
Keenan’s first-half goal secured a hard-fought win over Skyvalley Rovers at a wind-swept Lecarrow this afternoon; writes Dan Dooner.
The result also plunges Skyvalley further into the relegation mire. They must now rely on the champions to get a result against Shiven Rovers in their final fixture to avoid a play-off.
This was a nervy affair from the first whistle and both sides struggled with the conditions.
It was Keenan who went closest early on, his half volley on the run just drifting over the crossbar. The visitors more than held their own in the opening exchanges but were undone after 19 minutes. Keenan latched on to a Tommy Hurley pass before slotting home from inside the penalty area.
Skyvalley, to their credit, didnt look like a side battling at the wrong end of the table but struggled to ever really test Sean Coyle in the St. John's goal. The hosts were content to sit back in the second-half and perhaps should have made the game safe through chances for Hurley, Kevin Brennan and substitute Conor Devaney late on.
The margin and manner of victory, however, mattered little to the Lecarrow side who retained the league title they won in such dramatic circumstances last season.
