Connacht Junior 1 League
Monivea 12 Creggs 24
Creggs recorded a superb away bonus point victory over Monivea in a titanic battle at their Castle Grounds in Saturday’s crucial J1 League encounter.
Monivea went ahead against the run of play, with a breakaway try in the 21st minute. Creggs responded with some rousing play which led to a fine try by flanker James Brandon following excellent interplay before half-time.
A superb kick by Creggs out-half Shane Dowd put the home team on the retreat and from the resulting line-out Creggs attacked down the blindside, which culminated in a penalty try when a Monivea back was adjudged to have deliberately knocked on.
Creggs tackled with great determination all over the park throughout and broke away for another excellent James Brandon try on 63 minutes to lead 17-5.
Shortly after, Vinny Nally finished off a strong drive by the Monivea pack with a try with ten minutes remaining and a good conversion by Ger Fahy left the game delicately poised at 17-12.
The final try in a rip-roaring contest went to Elliot Jennings who demonstrated great power and pace when he outstripped four Monivea defenders for a magnificent individual try. Mark Brandon’s conversion was the final score in a match that has finally declared Creggs as serious contenders for the top J1 title.
Having only gained promotion to this league in March, it is great to witness the progress which has been made so far but there are still many tough challenges ahead. On a day when each and every squad member made a vital contribution to this victory, the Creggs forwards laid the foundation with excellent line-out and strong scrummaging against the imposing Monivea pack.
Next up for Creggs is the Cawley Cup Final against Castlebar at 2 pm this Sunday in Galway.
