Ferrari power keeps Sligo in fast lane
Sligo Grammar 15 Garbally Col 13
Connacht schools Snr Cup
Thomas Ferrari drove over for the crucial score 10 minutes from time as Sligo Grammar School made home advantage count against Garbally yesterday.
The captain finished off a powerful run in the corner as the Sligo side did just enough to see off the challenge of the Ballinsaloe boys to book a provincial decider against the winners of the replay between Rice College and Marist Athlone.
The home side enjoyed the perfect start, with Jason McGoldrick splitting the defence to race through from 30 yards, after some great work by Diarmuid O'Dowd-Hill in the line-out.
Colm Egan converted, but the lead was reduced almost immediately as the excellent Ross Keller split the posts with a penalty. Garbally dominated the remainder of the half and were rewarded when scrum-half David Murray touched down in the corner. Keller converted from a difficult angle as the visitors led 10-7 at the break.
Two minutes after half-time, Keller landed another penalty, but the home side began to up the tempo with the wind at their backs.
Egan missed a chance to reduce the deficit from a close-range penalty on 47 minutes, but he redeemed himself when landing his next effort from way out five minutes later. No 8 Ferrari then claimed the vital score as the clock ticked down.
SLIGO GRAMMAR -- C Egan; D Leydon (W Weaver h-t), J McGoldrick, M Martin, C Cooper; M Green, E Gavin; E Kilroy, Martin Davey, Matthew Davey; P Deering (R Hehir 63), D O'Dowd-Hill; J Smith, S Mullaney, T Ferrari.
GARBALLY -- M Tierney; A Mannion, J Parsons, R Keller, C Loughrey; I Duffy, D Murray; J Walsh, A Loughrey, K Gavin; S Curtain, T Murphy; D Walsh, J Codyre, D Curley.
REF -- D Connolly.
Irish Independent
