ÕWegians get off the mark with win over Dungannon

Galwegians 28Dungannon 24

After a run of four opening defeats, Galwegians finally opened their account in this season’s Ulster Bank Division 1B League fixture with a dramatic win against Dungannon at Crowley Park on Saturday.

And they did it the hard way, having come back from the dead to seal a thoroughly deserved victory.

Having lost against three Ulster sides already in October and shipping 14 tries in the process, the omens did not look good for ‘Wegians coming into this fixture, and they made a disastrous start when the visitors took a comfortable 12-0 lead early on.

It started in the sixth minute when a loose pass from winger Paddy Finn to his out-half Tadhg Leader was gratefully scooped up by Dungannon’s right-wing Conor Gaston who raced home unopposed to score the game’s first try. And although he had missed a straightforward penalty in the opening minute, full-back Peter Nelson landed an excellent touchline conversion to put the Tyronemen 7-0 in front.

The visitors completely dominated the opening exchanges, and in the 16th minute they scored a second try when centre Paul McKenzie made a break and gave a sublime switch pass to full-back Nelson who dotted down in the right-hand corner.

‘ Wegians finally got their game going after a spluttering start, Leader opening their account with a 25th minute penalty, and with their forwards now gaining the upper hand, they were dominating both possession and territory.

They grabbed their first try of the game shortly after the half-hour mark when captain John Cleary fielded a high clearance kick on his own 10 metre line, feigned a pass outside before scything through the middle, evading several tackles on a serving jinking run before rounding full-back Nelson to score a truly sensational individual try near the posts.

Leader’s conversion reduced arrears to 12-10, and although now well on top, a lapse in concentration saw the Blues concede a third try just before half-time, Dungannon number 8 James McMahon diving over in the corner to give the visitors a 17-10 advantage.

With a slight wind advantage at their backs, ‘Wegians started the second period with intent, and Leader soon reduced arrears to 17-13 with a well-struck penalty from wide out left. But almost straight from the restart, their brittle defence was again exposed when Dungannon out-half Jarryd Bennett sold a dummy before feeding his scrum-half Michael Kirkwood who sauntered home to touch down near the posts for a fourth try.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.