Niall O’Connor was the hero for Connacht on Saturday evening when he scored the equalising penalty for his side with the last kick of the game against Glasgow at the Sportsground.
The game was very much a physical one, with brute strength and physicality looking likely to be the deciding factor. This proved true, as it was Jon welsh who put the visitors ahead in the 25th minute after he smashed the Connacht defence aside and bundled the ball down underneath the host’s posts. Ruaridh Jackson converted and the visitors went ahead, although Niall O’Connor managed to put 3 points on the board for Connacht in the dying moments of the first half courtesy of a penalty.
The second half was much the same as the first, with both sides trying to outmuscle the other into submission. Connacht fought tenaciously and were eventually rewarded with a try in the 63rd minute from Tiernan O’Halloran. O’Connor converted, but it looked as though the host’s efforts were in vain when Duncan Weir slotted a penalty over the bar only a few minutes later to restore Glasgow’s advantage.
However, Connacht never gave up and their pressure eventually paid off again in the dying moments when they were awarded a penalty in injury time, which O’Connor calmly converted to give Connacht a deserved share of the spoils.