Breakdown and lineout woes haunt Monivea in Junior Cup final

Monivea  8

A dominant display at the breakdown and in the lineouts helped Westport end a forty year wait for Heineken Connacht Junior Cup glory on Sunday, holding off a stern Monivea challenge to secure the crown thanks to two tries from Kevin Corcoran and Kevin Gill.

Having lost last year’s final to Galwegians, Westport returned on Sunday in determined mood looking to use that experience to their benefit. The evidence seems to suggest that they did just that as throughout a tight and tense contest, Westport showed superb accuracy in their set piece play and conjured up two match winning tries, one in each half.

At a sun drenched Sportsground, a huge crowd packed into that Clan Terrace and made plenty of noise throughout a tight first half. Both sides made errors but the game was evenly poised up until the half hour mark when Kevin Corcoran’s moment of brilliance turned the tide in favour of Westport.

The tall, strong running centre broke clear inside his own half after Sean Tobin pounced on a turnover and David O’Malley quickly off loaded to his strike running centre partner. Corcoran had lots to do but he hit full stride, executed a perfect hand off and sprinted to the corner for a try that Tobin converted with supreme accuracy.

Monivea fought back on the scoreboard after half time with a Ger O’Connor penalty but their struggles at lineout time were proving costly and led indirectly to Kevin Gill’s second half try for the Mayo side that left the score at 14-3.

The game wasn’t over yet, however, as Monivea player coach Darren Blade entered the fray along with winger Ger Divilly. The experienced duo gave duo have their side a lift and with the likes of Coleman Maher in fine form in the backline, the prospect of a comeback seemed possible.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.