Galwegians too strong for UL
Galwegians 29 UL Bohemians 22
Galwegians survived a second-half onslaught from Bohemians to claim the victory and a bonus point thanks to a hat-trick of tries from hooker Gerry Flannery at Crowley park yesterday.
Bohemians came close to causing a major upset when they stormed back from a 22 - 3 deficit to come within seven points and secure a bonus point for their third successive division one fixture this season.
Despite never relinquishing the lead from start to finish, Galwegians were made to work all the way to the finish, and in the end a rampant Bohemians, who had dominated the second half, had Galwegians and their nine contracted players clinging on for victory.
Few would have predicted a second half in which the young bullish Bohemians would ride roughshot over their more illustrious opponents, but in the end Galwegians escaped with their second win on the trot and Bohemians had to settle for another narrow defeat and single bonus point.
Galwegians were quick out of the blocks when man of the match Jerry Flannery crossed after three minutes for the first of his hat-trick. While Bohs kept in touch with a 7th minute penalty from outhalf Ian Costello, Flannery was back in the driving seat when he came up from a strong Galwegian maul from Eric Peters's line-out catch for try number two after 27 minutes.
At that stage Galwegians looked unbeatable. Fullback Willie Ruane, making his return from injury, always looked assured, and with Martin McPhail and Gavin Duffy always punching holes through the midfield, it was only a matter of time before the Bohs cover conceded a third.
When John Cleary raced in from the left wing from 22 metres out, it looked all over for the young Limerick outfit. Eric Elwood¹s conversion and a penalty just before the break gave the home side a comfortable 22 - 6 points lead as Bohemians outhalf Ian Costello secured a late drop goal before the break.
However Bohemians ably demonstrated their ability to compete in this division with some fine examples of ball retention. They were rewarded when Costello notched a second penalty before their abrassive pack combined with Coleman Finn and Keith Matthews before centre Nick Lutman finished off a period of domination with a 51st minute try to close the gap to 22 - 14.
However Galwegians capitilised on a rare foray into their opponents' 22 when Flannery once again finished off a line-out and maul from the 22.
Having secured the bonus point for their fourth try after 54 minutes, Galwegians seemed content to sit back and let Bohs do all the work.
Certainly Galwegians were able to soak up the pressure, but in the end Bohs started punching holes in the Galwlegian cover all over the pitch.
Replacement wing Tom Ellard reduced the arrears to 29 - 19 with a 60th minute try after Finn and Costello once again broke the tackle, and in the final 10 minutes they threw everything at the home side.
In the end the home side was perhaps fortunate that Bohs needed to convert a 80th minute
penalty to secure a bonus point. It took the steam out of Bohs attack, giving Galwegians some breathing space as time ran out.
Galwegians: W Ruane, G Brady, G Duffy, M McPhail, J Cleary, E Elwood, A Page, D McFarland, J Flannery, P Bracken, D Browne, C Murphy, B Gavin (cpt), J O'Connor, E Peters. Replacements, J Muldoon for Peters (63m).
UL Bohemians: C Gilligan, B Tuohy, N Lutman, C Finn, K Matthews, I Costello, D Malone, M harty, G Ryan, J Danagher, B Dineen, M Porter, C Fitzgerald, J O'Neill, A Hartigan. Replacements, D O'Connell for Dineen (40m), P Treacy for Tuohy (45m), T Ellard for Matthews (55m),
Yellow cards: Danagher (36m).
Referee: O Trevor
