A STRONG finish to the opening half put Down on the road to a comfortable 17 point victory in Portaferry.

An Adrian Coyle goal for Roscommon shocked Down into action and points flowed from Simon Wilson, Brendan McGourty, Johnny McGrattan, Gerard Adair, Paul and Mick Braniff as Down led by 0-15 to 1-7 at half-time.

Down will have two home games in the second phase of the Allianz NHL after this result. The Mournemen finish top of the table ahead of Westmeath as a result of their superior points difference (+22 to +18).

2004 NHL Div 2A League Table

SCORERS -

Down:
P Braniff 1-6, G Johnson 1-1, S Wilson 0-5, B McGourty, J McGrattan 0-3 each, G McGrattan, M Coulter, M Braniff, A Savage, G Adair 0-1 each.

Roscommon:
A Coyne 1-2, C Kelly 0-4, M Connaughton, B Hanley, T Lennon 0-1 each.


DOWN -
Graham Clarke; L Clarke, S Murray, E Dorrian; Gabriel Clarke, G Savage, S Wilson; A Savage, G Adair; G McGrattan, P Braniff, B McGourty; M Coulter, J McGrattan, M Braniff.
Subs:
G Johnson for Coulter, S Clarke for M Braniff, M Pucci for Gabriel Clarke, J Convery for J McGrattan.

ROSCOMMON -
D Connell; C O'Brien, M Healy, O Brown; L Murray, A Loughnane, T Reddington; M Connaughton, C Kelly; D Hogan, A Coyne, B Hanley; T Lennon, F Quine, S Sweeney.
Subs:
E Kelly for O'Brien, M Keaveney for Loughnane, B Mannion for Murray, A Kelly for Quine.

REF -
G Devlin (Armagh).