Galwegians continued their fine form with their 13th straight victory when UL Bohemians were the visitors to Crowley Park on Saturday in a top-of-the-table division 2B clash.
In an important win for the Galway city side as they edge closer to mathematically securing automatic promotion to Division 2A, the Blues were helped by a strong attacking opening half, and a huge defensive effort in the second.
With a blistering start, the home side crossed for two tries in the opening 10 minutes - the first in the fifth minute when they capitalised on a scrum penalty, after a knock-on by Bohs’ winger Greg Fitzgerald. From the resulting set piece, number eight Eanna McCarthy fed inside centre Cian Brady, who ran a superb straight line to slice through the Bohs’ cover and touch down under the posts. Fullback Tiarnan Neville added the conversion to make it 7-0.
Four minutes later Galwegians doubled their lead, once again punishing an error when Bohs’ outhalf Cian Casey kicked directly into touch. It handed the initiative back to the home side, and from the ensuing line-out, a well-worked move saw Brady link with Neville before feeding outhalf Conor O’Shaughnessy, who cut through the defensive line to score near the posts. Neville converted to extend the lead to 14-0.
UL Bohemians’ efforts to gain a foothold in the contest were repelled by Galwegians’ stern defence, and instead the home side stretched their advantage on the half-hour mark. From a ruck on the 10-metre line, the ball was moved through six pairs of hands before Rob Deacy cut back inside to find scrumhalf Andrew Sherlock, who showed pace to beat the cover and score near the corner. The try was unconverted with Galwegians leading 19-0.
Bohs, who continued to battle, missed opportunities before the break, but they came flying in the second half and threw down the gauntlet.
With penalties beginning to go their way, they continued to gain territory and possession, but Galwegians’ defence held firm, securing some vital turnovers. However, the home side was dealt a blow when losing Connacht Academy players Conor O’Shaughnessy and Dave Walsh to ankle injuries, nor were they helped when another Academy star, Albert Lindner, was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on early in the third quarter.
As a result, the Blues struggled to get out of their own half, and the pressure finally told in the 63rd minute when the visitors struck following a slick backline move that sent full-back Oisin Fagan over in the right corner. The try was converted by Casey to narrow the gap.
Bohs, dominating at scrum time, continued to win penalties to maintain their pressure. Pauraic Galvin and Liam Neilan caused serious damage, and with the game entering its closing stages, captain Darragh O’Gorman added a try, with Casey delivering the sideline conversion to close the gap to 19-14.
With the game in its closing minutes, the home side finally managed to gain some territory in the search for a bonus-point try, but ill-discipline stymied a promising opportunity. As a result, they were forced to keep Bohs pinned deep in their half, but their excellent defence succeeded in running down the clock to ensure an important victory.
