Galwegians suffer their first defeat of the AIL Division 2C season with a 19-22 loss to first-placed Clogher Valley in a match that well and truly lived up the billing.
Galwegians made just one change to the starting XV with Shane Mallon’s injury bringing Hugh Gavin back into the squad at centre as Darragh Kennedy assumed the full-back position in his absence.
It would be a dream start for Galwegians, scoring the opening try of the afternoon just two minutes in as Hugh Gavin bolted past three Clogher Valley players to carry himself over the line. Tiarnan Neville struck the conversion between the posts to give the Blues an early 7-0 lead.
Clogher Valley began to enjoy some possession in Galwegians 22 and started winning penalties. Paul Armstrong took advantage to put three points on the board at the five-minute mark.
Clogher went one better just three minutes later, once again at the hands of Armstrong. Armstrong extracted the ball from the ruck and found himself in a pocket of space to burst through the defence and take the lead. He couldn’t repeat the trick off the tee and hit the conversion wide, keeping the game at 8-7 to Clogher.
Clogher Valley increased their lead with a second try as Callum Smyton exploited space on the right side of the scrum to find himself a metre short. Smyton retrieved the ball after a few phases and touched down for their second. Armstrong's successful conversion extended the lead to 15-7.
The pendulum swung back in the favour of Galwegians shortly after, clawing back with a second try at the half-hour mark. Gavin offloaded to Finn Tracey who played an opportunist inside pass to Andrew Sherlock and scored the try at the posts. Another clinical conversion from Neville made it a one-point game.
An Armstrong penalty just before half-time had the potential to give Clogher a four-point lead but it went wide of the post. In an extraordinary opening half of rugby, the score remained at 15-14 to the visitors.
It was a disastrous start to the second half for Galwegians, conceding just twenty seconds after the restart. Jamie Allen slipped past the tackles of the Galwegiansplayers to break away for Clogher’s third. Armstrong’s penalty added to their tally, giving them a 21-14 lead.
Galwegians never gave Clogher any respite and in the 55th minute, Galwegiansscored a third try of their own. With a scrum five metres in front of the posts, Galwegians played the ball wide to the left to Neville. Darragh Kennedy looped in behind Neville and using his centre as a decoy, Neville played Kennedy into open space and dotted into the corner to make 21-19 with 25 minutes to go.
Galwegians earned themselves a penalty in front of the posts with just a few minutes on the clock. With three points, they could have levelled the game and ended up with a draw. In a decision that proved pivotal, they opted to go for the corner.
However, Clogher Valley’s defence remained bulletproof and secured the turnover to take a massive win in the context of their season, giving them a seven-point lead in the standings. A tough result for Galwegians as their unbeaten streak comes to an end.
Galwegians will make the trip to Omagh Academicals RFC in Tyrone this Saturday, with kick-off at 2.30 p.m.
Galwegians: D Kennedy, F Tracey, H Gavin, M McGiff, O McKey, T Neville, A Sherlock, J Winters (C ), R Smith, G Daniel, O Halpin, R Holian, J Vaafusuaga, D Keane, L Angermann
Replacements: C Joyce, M McColgan, J Quinn, H Gens, B Walsh
