Men’s Firsts 24 – Sligo 7

Galwegians had a very impressive win away to Sligo at a wet and miserably cold Strandhill on Saturday. This was a hugely important game between second and third from bottom in the table. But it was the Blues who came away with a vital bonus point victory heading into the Christmas break.

Sligo came out of the traps quickly, however it was the visitors who opened the scoring on 6 minutes.  It came from good interchange with former Sligo lock Rob Holian making a 20m charging run through the middle before offloading to flanker Oisin Halpin. Although the Wegians captain was hauled down just before the line, scrum-half Andrew Sherlock quickly swung possession out wide, where full-back Darragh Kennedy came into the line to take the scoring pass and touch down near the right-hand corner for an unconverted try.

The home side responded well and within 5 minutes they would take the lead. When a penalty on the Wegians 10m line was kicked to the corner, a 15 metre line out maul brought play close to the Wegians line. Following a few more phases of pick and go’s, captain and hooker Matthew Earley wormed his way over the line. Centre Stuart Cruden added the extras midway between the posts and touchline to nudge his side 7-5 in front.

With a slight cross-breeze not really favouring either side, the rain was making handling difficult and for both sides it was a case of concentration and avoiding errors. Wegians had to absorb some further Sligo pressure as the hosts looked to extend their lead early in the second quarter, with Sherlock making one crucial interception when a second home try looked on. However the Blues looked to have the greater threat in the backline and they were also looking to play a territorial game with Stevie Mannion and and Ryan Roche using the boot often to good effect.

Sligo were reduced to 14 men in the 25^th minute when out-half Luke Walmsley was binned for a clothesline tackle on Kennedy. Wegians went on to capitalise and just after the half-hour mark they regained the lead. Winger Shane Mallon was inches away from grounding the ball at the corner-flag. However Sligo struggled to exit their 22 and a 15 metre Wegians lineout maul was perfectly executed, with hooker Eoin Ferry retaining control throughout at the tail before getting over the line out wide for a second unconverted try.

This swung the momentum and just before half-time the visitors struck a killer blow. It came from a well worked backline off a scrum near halfway. A clever grubber from left-winger Oisin McKey on his opposite wing caused havoc in the Sligo defence, with winger Darragh Feehily fumbling the ball on his 5m line. Kennedy latched on to it, hacking the ball over the line and grounding it for an opportunist score. It was third time lucky for Mannion who found his range with a perfectly judged conversion to put his side 10 points to the good at half-time, and they were good value for their lead.

The third quarter was fairly evenly contested, with scoring opportunities at a premium. For Wegians it was a case of  “what we have, we hold”, nullifying any Sligo threat upfront in particular. The hosts huffed and puffed as they tried to work their way back into the game, and they had an inevitable spell of dominance after the hour mark when they set up camp in the Wegians 22. For all that, they rarely threatened the try-line as they met a resolute Blues defence who were in no mood to concede. A key moment came when the hosts kicked a penalty to the corner for a 5m lineout, but some excellent defence and a superb turnover by hooker Ferry allowed the Blues to exit with Mannion clearing their lines up to halfway.

Having weathered the storm, Wegians then turned the screw in the final 10 minutes. They were knocking on the door and after a couple of near misses, on 75 minutes they finally sealed the bonus fourth try. Following a multi-phase attack on the opposition line, substitute and club captain Jack Winters marked his recent return from injury by latching on to a pop pass to burrow over near the left corner and break Sligo hearts.  Out-half Ryan Roche curled a perfect conversion into the wind to make it 24-7, and that was effectively that as the Blues comfortably closed out a second consecutive win.

So a commanding victory for Galwegians, and the impact of their bonus point victory means they pull six points clear of their provincial rivals, who are second from bottom of the League at the midway point in the season. The AIL now breaks for the Christmas holidays, before it resumes on Saturday January 11th when it will be all to play for again as both sides resume battle in Crowley Park.