Corinthians claim the derby spoils to go third in table

Galwegians 3

Corinthians 22

John Mulligan at Crowley Park

Corinthians moved to third in the AIL Division Two B following a hard fought win over Galwegians in Crowley Park on Friday night.

The final score may suggest an easy win for Corinthians, but it was anything but as in very difficult conditions with driving rain at times, Galwegians put up an incredible fight and the game was not settled until late in the second-half when Cathal Forde touched down with just six minutes remaining.

The game was finely balanced up to that point, with both teams getting chances, especially in the second 40 minutes, and Galwegians can count themselves unlucky that they did not score in the second-half.

Like all local derbies, the opening minutes were more like a chess match than a rugby game as both teams tested each other defensively. It was possible that an opening score would come from simply taking a chance on nothing and that is what Corinthians did.

A Galwegians line-out was fed out, but Forde broke through the cover to block and scrum-half Matthew Devine didn’t need to be asked twice as he gathered possession to touch down, and Forde’s conversion had Corinthians seven points to the good.

Galwegians had to respond and with their captain Kieran Downey leading the charge could have hit back almost immediately. Brian McSweeney and Diarmuid Kilgallen combined and made the guts of 40 metres before being tagged back and with Galwegians having a slight upper hand in the forward play, it took some excellent defending from the Corinthians backs to deny them a score.

It would be the 21st minute before another score would go on the board. In the meantime, Corinthians would lose hooker Dylan Tierney-Martin to a hamstring injury, meaning an earlier-than-expected introduction for Javier Sanchis who received a warm welcome from the Galwegians pack as Corinthians were driven back in the scrum.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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