High flying Wegians maintain mastery over arch city rivals

Galwegians 21

Corinthians 13

EVEN after this eight point derby win, you won’t find a sky blue supporter talking about promotion or titles around Glenina in anything other than a whispered voice in the corner of the club bar at Crowley Park. All season we’ve waited for the unlikely challengers to fall off the pace and all season they have defied the odds and made pre-season predictions look foolish.

This Friday night derby win under the floodlights at Crowley Park wasn’t one of Galwegians’ spectacular wins, nor was it a major upset. It was in fact a case of getting the job done against a tricky opponent and making sure all the good work from a week previously at Eaton Park in Ballymena wasn’t undone. They controlled the first half, wavered slightly after half time but powered through at the finish.

The backdrop for this game was simple. Galwegians arrived for this third AIL derby between the sides in four years – after two decades without such a fixture before that – on a mission. They had won a high scoring duel in Ulster the previous week and nabbed a bonus point to move two clear at the top of the table with four rounds remaining, but their fiercest rivals were in town to stall momentum.

The visitors had a very different backdrop, a frustrating campaign has seen them fall off the good pace of last year and coming into this contest they were second bottom and very much in the mix for filling one of the two relegation places. This was one of the games Corinthians really needed to steal and on 65 minutes or so, they came awfully close to setting up a late smash and grab.

Ultimately, however, there was a clear difference between the sides, a sharpness that is evident in everything Galwegians do, a sense of timing and a willingness to push for the extra pass and straighten the line when drifting seems safer. They are a team brimming full of confidence at the moment and a third straight derby win in three years was the fruits of their labour here.

The act of highlighting all that serves to show where Corinthians are falling short. Endeavour and commitment were there in spades and they had a fair balance of possession and territory in the contest too but the line breaks, the big game changing gains simply didn’t materialise from about the tenth minute on.

The first try came from Corinthians after a high tempo start and multiple phases of attacks in the home 22 with Cian Begley scoring, but Galwegians were sparked into life and had a try back from Rory Parata not long after. The centre profiting from an unusual bounce at first but then showing tremendous footwork to score.

By the 20 minute mark the second try had been nabbed with the lively and accurate Barry Lee darting over from close range after some good work from the home forwards. By half time the lead was just 12-10 as Conor Murphy had kicked a late Corinthians penalty but despite the narrow margin, Galwegians were looking much more threatening.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune