Corinthians 14 :: Sligo 9
Sligo slumped to their first Connacht Junior league defeat of the season when they were beaten by a well organised Corinthian outfit at Cloonacauneen on Sunday.
A late Corinthian try broke the hearts of the visitors who led by 2 points with 3 minutes left on the clock. Corinthians kicked the game off and Sligo immediately went on the front foot with a superb catch from Jason East before driving into the heart of the tribesmens defence. Some good positional kicking gave Sligo a foothold in the blues half. A series of rucks ensued before Sligo were awarded a penalty on the home 10 metre line. Paddy Pearson stepped up and bisected the posts with a well judged effort.
From the restart Sligo went back on the attack and a Pearson break on halfway almost broke the last line of defence. From the resulting ruck the home team infringed and Sligo were awarded a penalty 10 meters from the touchline. Sligo elected to kick but Pearson’s well struck effort drifted narrowly wide.
Corinthian’s again responded and went on the hunt for a score bringing their speedy backline into play. One foray into the Sligo half looked to be set to reap dividends but a huge tackle by centre Gavin Foley halted the attack and gave his team the opportunity to clear the danger.
Sligo doubled their advantage after 20 minutes when following a free kick award inside the home 22 scrum half Billy Leahy released Jason East who drove for the line before being held up 15 metres out. Second Row Jamie Bowes took over the charge and drove for the line before being stopped short. The Corinthians defence pushed up offside and Sligo were awarded the penalty. Pearson stepped up and converted the kick to put his team six points ahead.
Corinthians again responded following the restart and were awarded a penalty on the Sligo 10 metre line but Outhalf Eric Flynn’s effort fell short and was cleared by the Sligo defence.
Sligo almost crossed the Corinthian line on the half hour. Good play by Simon Coulter allowed Billy Leahy release his backline. Centre Jordan Farrington stepped inside the cover before linking with Pearson who was stopped narrowly short. The home team regrouped and forced the error allowing the clearance kick. The score remained the same until half time.
The second half began with Sligo setting up camp in Corinthian territory. A penalty award after 10 minutes allowed Pearson the opportunity to add another three points to his teams total and the outhalf duly obliged with a well struck effort.
Corinthians were stung into life and began to put pressure on the Sligo defence. From a scrum on the Sligo 22 the ball was moved to out half Eric Flynn who deftly chipped the ball over the pressing defence before collecting his own kick and racing in to the left of the Sligo posts. The conversion brought the score to 7-9 in favour of Sligo.
Corinthians now had the finish line in sight and were starting to return Sligo’s clearance efforts with interest. Their concerted pressure was rewarded with three minutes remaining when a break down the blindside was latched onto by full back Evan Kilroy who outpaced the visiting defence before touching down and breaking Sligo hearts in the process. The extras were added to leave a final score of 14-9 to the Galway outfit.
Next Sunday Sligo take on Tuam in the league at Strandhill and will want to produce an improved performance before their Heineken Junior Cup showdown against high flying Monivea on Sunday week. Kick off next Sunday is at 2.30
Sligo: Julian Rippon, Ted Mulvaney, Jordan Farrington, Gavin Foley, Andrew Feeney, Paddy Pearson, Billy Leahy, Adrian Mc Hale, Ross Mannion, Jason East, Peter Mullan, Jamie Bowes, Trevor Sweeney, Gary Conneely, Simon Coulter. Replacements Daragh Cox, Martin Feeney, Frankie Feeney.
Corinthians: Evan Kilroy, Kevin Russell, Richie Forbes, Stuart Cooke, Alan Quinn, Eric Flynn, Hugh Griffin, Brendan Barret, Dastch Barber, Cathal O Shea, Colin Raftery, Seamus Murphy, Mark Byrne, Luke Cummins, Barry Mc Cann. Replacements Alan O Toole, Kim Williams, Ronnie Ferguson.
Photos of this game can be found here.
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