Men’s Firsts 19 – Sligo 0

Galwegians made it fourteen wins on the bounce with a hard-fought but crucial 19–0 victory away to Sligo at Hamilton Park on Saturday, February 28th, moving the Blues tantalisingly close to the automatic promotion spot in Division 2B.
In miserable, blustery conditions, the hosts flew out of the traps and laid immediate siege to the Galwegians line. Sligo camped deep inside the visitors’ 22 for almost the entire opening quarter, but were met by a magnificent Blues defensive wall that refused to yield. Chance after chance went begging for the home side before Galwegians finally lifted the siege on 20 minutes.

With what was effectively their first meaningful incursion into the Sligo half, a strong breakdown the left by centre Rob Deacy created an attacking platform. A subsequent penalty allowed out-half Tiarnan Neville to kick to the corner, and — not for the first time this season — a textbook lineout, following a clean take by the impressive young lock Rory Gavin, set the platform for hooker Ryan Smith to crash over near the left corner for a 5–0 lead.

That score signalled another Sligo onslaught as the hosts attacked in waves. Former Sligo man and Blues lock Rob Holian was sent to the sin bin, but the 14-man Galwegians defence held firm once more as further chances were spurned by the home side, not helpedby the conditions to be fair. The sucker punch arrived on the stroke of half-time when the visitors showed their clinical edge.

An excellent passage of attacking play saw Galwegians move the ball through 16 phases from coast to coast. The excellent full-back Darragh Kennedy hit a superb line and, although he was held up just short, vice-captain Andrew Sherlock was on hand in support to take the scoring pass and touch down. Neville added the conversion to give the Blues a 12–0 half-time lead.

This was a body blow to Sligo who were facing worsening conditions and playing into the second-half breeze, and for much of the third quarter the game was largely confined between the two 22s, which suited the visitors. Galwegians looked the more likely to add to their tally and, while there was parity at set piece, the Sligo backline struggled to make serious inroads against a well-organised visiting defence.

The game was put beyond doubt in the 69th minute. Following a dropout on the Sligo goal line, captain Dylan Keane gathered possession and managed to beat the attention of no less than three defenders to power over near the posts for an excellent individual try. Neville’s straightforward conversion pushed the lead to 19–0 and effectively ended the contest.

To their credit, Sligo never stopped battling and spent the closing stages searching for a consolation score. Although the Blues finished with 14 men when sub hooker Eoin Ferry was binned late on, despite a couple of promising line breaks, the final pass never stuck, with Galwegians’ scramble defence outstanding in preserving the shutout.

So for the second game running, the Blues ultimately had to settle for a four-point win rather than the full bonus, but the result keeps the momentum firmly with them. Attention now turns to this weekend’s trip to Malone in Belfast, where a bonus-point victory would guarantee automatic promotion to Division 2A with three games still to play.