Glasgow 17 Connacht 19:THE WALLS for Fortress Firhill trembled for long periods last evening and finally cracked as Connacht achieved their first away win in two years. It was, as predicted, a hard-earned victory, with the lead switching four times throughout the 80 minutes, but in the end Connacht claimed the victory they richly deserved in a game which could have gone either way.
With less than a minute left on the clock and Warriors camped on the Connacht line, replacement outhalf Duncan Weir had the opportunity to snatch victory, but his drop goal effort sailed well wide to ensure Connacht laid another away ghost to bed. It was in April 2008 that Connacht enjoyed a victory not the road – against the Dragons – but the closest they had come since a 2003 win in Glasgow was a 16-15 bonus point loss in 2007.
At the heart of this win was a hugely impressive defensive effort and a never-say-die attitude. The Warriors had looked the more impressive in attack, and they certainly edged the possession stakes, but ultimately both sides scored only one try apiece.
For a second week the final 10 minutes were a cliffhanger and Connacht lived dangerously.
Glasgow had retaken the lead in the 64th minute through the boot of outhalf Ruaridh Jackson whose only miss all evening was a conversion. But Connacht regained the initiative when they needed to most. From a defensive position and camped on their own line, Connacht claimed the penalty from the scrum, and a delightful touchfinder from Ian Keatley set up territorial control. They wrested possession and set up the maul, Glasgow had no choice but to pull it down illegally and the outhalf stepped up to convert the penalty.
So the lead changed hands once again, this time giving Connacht a slender two-point lead. On this occasion they kept it.
The Warriors has started the better and almost immediately Jackson had kicked a penalty after Connacht failed to roll away form a ruck, and Keatley, who had the opportunity to reply within two minutes, was wide with his effort from the right touchline.
The home side enjoyed the upper hand in those opening 20 minutes as they kept the ball in hand and recycled at pace, and by the ninth minute centre Graeme Morrison broke through Gavin Duffy and Troy Nathan’s double tackle to stretch the lead to 8-0.
Connacht, finding it difficult to break down the Warriors in those early stages, found themselves starved of possession, and as Eric Elwood had predicted it was a “hands to the wheel” game for the visitors who needed some dogged defending to keep the home side out.
However, Connacht’s ace was their scrum which provided the platform for the scores, and from a resulting penalty kicked to touch, Glasgow conceded a penalty for offside which Keatley struck to open the visitors’ account.
It gave Connacht the impetus they needed with Keatley adding another five minutes later, and although the outhalf missed a third effort from just inside the halfway line, they finished the half with a flourish.
Cronin, Mike McCarthy and Michael Swift were always at the heart of the a defensive effort that turned over possession, giving Fionn Carr his opportunity to attack, and from the 10-metre line the left wing jinxed through the cover before racing in to claim a crucial try just before the break.
Keatley added the conversion and a penalty immediately after the restart to put Connacht 16-8 ahead before Jackson’s three penalties swung the pendulum back in the home side’s favour.
Unbeaten in their last three games against Connacht, they finally succumbed in the 75th minute.
It was Connacht’s first win in Scotland since a visit to the disbanded Border Reivers in 2006.
CONNACHT: G Duffy, T Nathan, N Ta’auso, K Matthews, F Carr, I Keatley, F Murphy, B Wilkinson, S Cronin, J Hagan, M Swift, B Upton, M McCarthy, R Ofisa, M McComish. Replacements: A Flavin for Cronin (55), A Browne for Upton (60), C Willis for Murphy, R Loughney for Wilkinson and R Sweeney for Hagan (all 71m), M Nikora for Matthews (74).
GLASGOW: B Stortoni, Dth van der Merwe, M Evans, G Morrison, H O’Hare, R Jackson, C Gregor, J Welsh, F Thomson, E Kalman T Ryder, R Gray, R Harley, J Barclay (cpt), R Vernon. Replacements: K Tkachuk for Welsh and M Low for Kalman (ht), A Muldowney for Ryder (51m), D Weir for Jackson (64), C Forrester for Barclay (68).
Referee: Leighton Hodges (Wales).
