Match Result
- Result: Galwegians Firsts 22 - Dolphin 23
- Venue: Musgrave Park on Sat Nov 17th 2007
- Competition: AIL Division 1
Match Report
Galwegians suffered a second consecutive narrow away League defeat on Sunday, this time at Musgrave Park against Dolphin who rise to third place in the AIB League Division One table as a result.
'Wegians made a bright start with the Connacht-contracted Peter Durcan landing a first-minute penalty. They held onto the lead for 25 minutes before Dolphin managed to reply through the boot of out-half Barry Keeshan. However, Paul Young's visitors seized control before the break and appeared to be in a commanding position. They regained the lead just after the half hour when a lineout steal led to Connacht prop Brian McGovern being driven over for an unconverted try.
It got even better for Wegians when four minutes later winger John Cleary crossed for his second try in as many games, and this time Durcan landed the conversion to give the Blues a commanding 12-point lead. However Keeshan managed to add what proved to be a crucial second penalty for the Musgrave men just before the break, to reduce the gap to 15-6.
The game was effectively decided in the third quarter, when both the Wegians try-scorers turned villain as they were sin-binned in rapid succession. First Cleary was binned by referee David Keane for a foot trip, and when Dolphin kicked the resultant penalty to touch, McGovern was then carded for pulling down a lineout maul. And credit the home side who took full advantage of their numerical superiority by bagging two tries to snatch the lead. First their blindside flanker Henry O'Flynn was mauled over, and then tight-head prop Christy Condon crossed the line, with Keeshan converting both tries for a 20-15 lead.
However 'Wegians showed great heart and self-belief, and they managed to regain the lead with 15 men back on the field. It came from a penalty-try from a 5 metre scrum when referee Keane instantly awarded the try following a collapsed scrum by the home pack. Durcan’s easy conversion made it 22-20 to Wegians.
However it wasn’t to be, as the home side had the last laugh when Keeshan landed the winning penalty 10 minutes from time. And try as they might, the Blues pushed hard for the winning score but the home defence held out for the slender victory.
