It was an injury ravaged Dungannon team that took the field at home to Sligo on Saturday sporting no less than seven changes from last week’s trip to Skerries. Gannon were aiming to keep up the pressure on league leaders Wanderers whilst Sligo were desperate for the points in their bid to avoid a relegation playoff.

Kicking off towards the Moy Road, Gannon began brightly with an early penalty at the scrum giving Ben McCaughey the chance to put them three nil ahead which he duly did. Sligo began to grow into the game themselves winning a penalty at the breakdown which gave them field position and going through a number of attacking phases in the Gannon 22 before a great turnover by loose head prop Matthew Stockade relieved the pressure. They did however level up the scores shortly thereafter when Dungannon conceded a penalty for a high tackle leaving it 3-3.

It was a very even contest with both teams having their moments. Ben McCaughey did well to claim a Peter Nelson up and under and from a resulting penalty scrum half Toby Gribben tapped and went quickly looking to up the tempo however the support couldn’t get to him quickly enough and Sligo won the turnover. Their reprieve was short lived as they then kicked the ball out on the full giving Dugannon possession back in their 22. Gannon went to the corner after winning another penalty and the subsequent line out maul seemed to be motoring only to break off early when a try seemed inevitable, and the ball then knocked on. To make matters worse, Sligo won a penalty from that scrum and the siege was lifted.

It was Sligos turn to attack as the game ebbed and flowed and they made a huge bust down the middle of the pitch following some fine interplay between their back and forwards. The big second row who made the break panicked somewhat when looking for his support and gave the ball away allowing Dungannon to counterattack through James Girvan with Charlie Conroy almost getting on the end of his kick ahead. Sligo were to infringe again with Dungannon going to their line out maul again which was struggling to get going now against the bigger Sligo pack. The forwards picked and jammed for a number of phases around the posts before patience was lost and Nelson looked to float a pass over the Sligo defenders which was picked off. Sligo, however, then criminally missed touch with their clearance kick and Toby Gribben did well to work the ball in feudal to Nelson who stepped off his left foot and scorched in from thirty meters for the first try of the game. McCaughey converted and it was 10-3 to the home side.

Sligo responded again with an attacking kick resulting in a goal line drop out from which they built pressure and eventually worked their No 9 over for a well-deserved score as we headed into half time 10 apiece.

Dungannon were playing towards the clubhouse now in the second half which took some time to get going. Centre Mervyn Brown was convinced that he had won the race to dot down his own kick-through but couldn’t convince the referee of his case. Dungannon were awarded a 5m scrum but were unable to make the pressure tell with Sligo winning a turnover. Out half Nelson was looking to use the wind at his back to pin Sligo in their own half. Whilst he was unlucky with one kick that rolled dead, fortune favored him with a second kick soon after which seemed to spin sideways when it too seemed to be heading dead allowing wing Conroy to touch down. McCaughey converted to make it 17-10.

Again, Sligo would not go away with some in indiscipline from Dungannon giving them territory, they set up camp on the 5m line with a series of scrums where they had held the advantage all game. Credit however to the Dungannon front row who locked out both scrums forcing Sligo to throw the ball wide where they were turned over and Gannon cleared. Wing Alfie Lewis was off the bench for his AIL debut and forced a turnover after a great kick chase. He wasn’t done yet either and was soon diving over in the left corner for his first AIL try doing really well to gather the ball as it skidded towards him and beat the cover. McCaughey was unable to convert form out wide, but Gannon had breathing space now at 22-10.

Sligo continued to fight like a team whose survival in the division depended on it and they were rewarded again after a series of drives by their forwards around the fringes. The conversion was good and it was game on again at 22-17. As the game wound down, Dungannon won a kickable penalty in the Sligo 22 which would have given them an eight point lead and put the match to bed however they chose to chase the four try bonus point instead and went to the corner. Sligo forced the turnover before working their way up the field with the benefit of a number of penalties and were ultimately rewarded with a try from their maul which levelled the scores with the conversion still to come. Thankfully for Dungannon, the kick sailed well wide and the referee blew the final whistle with the score 22-22.

Whilst Wanderers secured the league title with their resounding home win 42-7 win over Clogher Valley, Dungannon have now secured a home tie in the semifinal of the promotion playoffs on the 19th April. They round off their regular league campaign away to Malahide next Saturday.