Firsts 13 – Sligo 31

Galwegians Seniors hit a speed bump when they were brought crashing back down to earth by Sligo in the Connacht Senior League at Strandhill last Saturday. While the final result may have been slightly flattering, the difference was one side’s inability to take the chances which came their way, while the hosts other displayed ruthless and clinical finishing any time they entered the red zone.

Wegians dominated the opening quarter spending long periods camped on their opponent’s line. However the Sligo defence was proving very difficult to unlock, and it took the Blues 18 minutes to open the scoring. David Symes claimed the game’s opening try which was converted by Morgan Codyre.

However this was a poor return for all their early dominance, and Wegians soon paid the price when they saw their lead eroded minutes later when the hosts scored from their very first incursion into opposition territory, with a converted try levelling the contest. Despite having most of the possession for the rest of the first half, things got even worse for the Blues when they went behind soon after from a second sucker-punch score. The hosts were now getting taste for this and incredibly they repeated the feat on the half-hour mark when scoring their third try from only their third attacking phase in the Wegians half, giving them a 19-7 lead.

The Blues settled down and out-half Morgan Codyre steadied the ship with two penalties either side of half-time to make it a one-score game at 19-13. However rather than kick on, some handling errors and defensive frailties were again exposed by a lethal Sligo counter-attack, with a fourth bonus try putting them 26-13 with less than an hour on the clock. In the final quarter the home pack began to turn the screw in the set-piece, and they finished in style when a driven maul saw them score a fifth try to really put some gloss on the final score.

Wegians have much to work on before their next Senior League outing away to Buccs on Sept. 8th, and they have a chance to put some things right when they host Division 1B side and recent AIL foes Old Wesley in a friendly at Crowley Park this Saturday Sept. 1st (3.15 kick-off).