Kiripati leads 14 man Buccaneers to heroic victory

Despite playing with only 14 men from the end of the opening quarter, Buccaneers put in a storming and sustained effort to outpoint Galwegians 12-6 in a vigorously contested Ulster Bank League 1B encounter in front of the biggest crowd of the season at Dubarry Park, Athlone, on Friday night. This spirited victory, in total contrast to the previous outing at UCC, elevated the midlanders to top of Division 1B. Conditions were perfect for playing and spectating with the floodlit kick-off for this Ganly's of Athlone sponsored match encouraging a big attendance who got a typical derby, passionate and unrelenting to the very end, and full value for the modest admission fee. Teenager Diarmuid Higgins started at tighthead prop for the Pirates who welcomed back Jack Carty at out-half with Adam Kennedy switching to centre and Conor Finn also made his first start on the left wing where he was in direct opposition to his brother Paddy. Incidentally, both clubs' presidents had sons in the respective backlines, Carty for Buccs and Tadhg Leader for Wegians. Concerns about the Buccs scrum were raised inside the opening minute, the light blues pressure yielding a penalty that Leader converted. Minutes later, boyish referee Sean Gallagher signalled his intent when he penalised Shane Layden for a lunging tackle inside the visitors' 22. Buccs levelled after 9 minutes when the westerners infringed at a scrum, Carty duly slotting over the penalty. Kolo Kiripati gave a hint of what was to follow with a rampaging charge that lifted the home fans after 13 minutes but Buccs were in trouble again at scrum-time shortly afterwards but Leader's placekick was off-target. The most contentious incident in the game occurred on 21 minutes, this time Layden being the victim of a rash challenge with David Heffernan, after consultation with a touch judge, being deemed guilty of a spear tackle in the ensuing play. The Buccs flanker sustained a straight red card but, perhaps, it would have been more prudent had the referee whistled promptly for the initial offence. Leader again failed to convert the penalty but now Buccs had a real uphill battle on their hands. However, this setback seemed to get the homesters dander up and they piled forward forcing a 30th minute penalty that Carty landed to take the lead. Five minutes later, the combined forces of Martin Staunton and Eoghan Grace tempted the visitors offside and Carty added his third penalty, a real beauty to give Buccs a 9-3 half-time lead. Within a minute of the restart, Carty scuffed a central penalty and nine minutes later he made a better attempt from a similar position but shaved the wrong side of the left upright to leave the game still finely balanced. Yet Buccs continued to dominate but a 57th minute line-out went awry and suddenly Wegians gained their first real foothold in the home half during the second period. This yielded four successive five metre scrums for the visitors with depleted Buccs defending heroically. Kiripati, leading like a captain should from start to finish, suddenly came driving out with possession to lift the siege. A melee followed this with Barry Lee somewhat fortunate that, following a conference of the match officials, he incurred only a yellow card for a foul on Carty. Buccaneers now pushed forward again and camped on the Wegians 22 line but staunch defending denied them further progress. Teenager Higgins put in a crunching tackle on Brian Murphy as Wegians rallied before Kiripati's only blemish when his reaction to being penalised resulted in the referee moving the penalty forward to the home 22 and Leader could not, and did not, miss from there to set up a nail-biting final six minutes. But Buccs responded well and their pack will savour squeezing their opponents at a 76th minute scrum on the left and Carty judged the resultant penalty perfectly to complete the scoring. Then in added time his clearance under pressure went to the one Galwegian that home fans did not want anywhere near the ball as fullback Cleary hared from 22 to 22 before he was nailed and with it went the visitors' last chance. This may not have been a game for the purist but it was mighty stuff. As expected, no quarter was asked or given but Buccs collectively worked harder throughout and their endeavours gained due reward. While no try was scored, the Pirates were always willing to move the ball quickly and looked the more likely to cross the whitewash. Buccs' tackling was immense and their will and heart a joy to behold, epitomised by Kiripati's contribution with rousing breaks, thundering tackles and never a step backwards to be a truly worthy winner of the 'Audi Athlone Man of the Match'. Grace, Daniel Qualter, Layden, Mark Dolan and Carty also put in serious shifts but, in reality, this was a true team display by Buccaneers. Cleary and Leader mainly caught the eye for Galwegians. This game doubled as a qualifier to be Connacht's representatives in the semi-final of the Bateman Cup and Buccaneers now have home advantage against Munster Senior Cup winners Garryowen in Dubarry Park in this All-Ireland semi-final next Saturday. Scorers Jack Carty 4 pens. Galwegians: Tadhg Leader 2 pens. Buccaneers: J. O'Brien; S. Layden, P. Harte, A. Kennedy, C. Finn; J. Carty, M. Dolan; M. Staunton, G. Halligan, D. Higgins; J. Tormey, D. Qualter; E. Grace, D. Heffernan, K. Kiripati (captain). Replacement used: C. Boland (for O'Brien, inj., 64 mins). Galwegians: J. Cleary (captain); C. Conroy, B. Murphy, T. Leader, P. Finn; R. Shaughnessy, B. Lee; J. Naughton, C. Muldoon, J. Stephens; E. Tarmey, B. McClearn; I. O'Grady, I. Muldoon, D. Murphy. Replacements used: D. O'Hara (for Tarmey, h/t), J. East (for Naughton, 61 mins), C.O'Connell (for Muldoon, inj.). Referee: Sean Gallagher (IRFU).