Niall Heneghan in action for the Rossies against Sligo. 

The Roscommon minor footballers will be without one of their key players for tomorrow (Friday) evening’s Connacht semi-final against Mayo in Castlebar after a suspension handed down following the recent game against Sligo was upheld.

The Connacht CCC imposed a two-match ban on Niall Heneghan following his red card against Sligo at Markievicz Park.

Roscommon appealed the suspension earlier this week, but the decision was subsequently upheld, meaning that Heneghan will miss the Connacht semi-final, and final against Galway should Roscommon qualify.

The Michael Glaveys player had been one of the team’s star players in recent weeks, hitting 3-4 against Leitrim which earned him the Electric Ireland Minor Championships Player of the Week.

“Niall is a great player. I didn’t see it. From talking to him, he said there was no incident really. He got a push in the back, but he didn’t strike. For sure, we’ll be appealing it because it would be totally out of character for Niall. He comes from a really good footballing family, so I believe Niall 100 per cent when he tells me what he told me”, said manager James Duignan following the victory against Sligo.

However, Duignan appears to have found a ready-made replacement in Ruairí Kilcline from St. Dominic’s who has impressed off the bench in recent games.