Newcomers impress as 'Wegians advance to semi-finals of Cup

Galwegians 11Buccaneers 5

Galwegians continued their recent run of good form when they overcame Buccaneers in this preliminary round Connacht Senior Cup fixture on Saturday.

With Glenina waterlogged during the week, the match was moved to the Sportsground side-pitch which was in very good condition despite the torrential rain. And although the rain held off during the contest, the soft underfoot conditions made for a predictably difficult game with handling errors abounding.

And with both teams having senior players on Connacht A duty the previous evening, both fielded understrength sides to give newcomers a chance to impress, and some ’Wegians who took their opportunity in their first-team debut were lock Dinny Mulvey, scrum-half Marty Connolly, and backs Shane Thompstone and Salthill GAA star Eoin O’Mahony.

It was the Blues who adapted quicker to the conditions, and they drew first blood with a Dave Clarke penalty. With scoring chances limited, they scored the crucial first try of the game in the first-half when back Gary O’Brien finished off a move to ground the ball over the line, and give his side an 8-0 half-time lead.

’Wegians continued to hold the upper hand in the second period, and Clarke added a second penalty midway through the half to stretch the advantage to 11-0. Buccaneers were unfortunate with injuries which didn’t help their cause, and indeed finished the game with just 14 men.

But despite this they made a late rally, and a charge from Ross Taylor resulted in an unconverted try. This gave the Blues a nervy last few minutes, but they held their line comfortably to secure a morale-boosting win over Division 1b opposition and secure their second win against Buccs this season.

This win has booked a semi-final clash against Sligo, which will be at Crowley Park on Saturday December 22.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.