Match Result
- Result: Galwegians Firsts 13 - Ballymena 40
- Venue: Eaton Park on Sat Mar 26th 2005
- Competition: AIL Division 1
Match Report
Galwegians suffered another AIL defeat at the hands of Ballymena on Saturday , the last remaining team in the AIL who they have never beaten since its inception in 1990.
Things started well for Wegians though in Eaton, and they led midway through the first half thanks to the opening try of the game from Stuart Meagher, with Dave Slemen adding a conversion and a penalty. But the turning point of the game came in a ten minute spell before the break when the home side scored two tries in quick succession, with their talented interprovincial winger Scott Young crossing for a couple of tries to give them an 18-10 lead. However Wegians did pull back another penalty from Slemen to keep then within a score at the break and still very much in the game.
However the second-half started in much the same vein as the first-half ended with the home side dominant. Wegians did not help their cause by struggling at the set-pieces, especially failing to secure their own line-out. This put them on the back-foot too often and gave the home side a chance to assert themselves which they certainly seized upon. By the hour mark the game was over as Ballymena had run in their third and fourth tries. Young managed to complete a hat-trick as they still had time for a fifth try, their other two coming from forwards Hugh Head and Jim Taggart to seal a very comfortable victory.
