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October 26, 2007Glasgow Warriors 11 - 11 MunsterCeltic League match played at Firhill on Friday October 26th 2007 | 2 comments
Dan was named as Man of the Match The Glasgow Warriors continued their unbeaten run at Firhill Arena as they drew 11-11 with Munster. Welsh referee James Jones was the target for furious Glasgow fans after their heroes were almost mugged by former European champions Munster at Firhill. They felt the Warriors were the victims of a string of dodgy verdicts - including a touchdown which was mysteriously chalked off. The flashpoint proved to be crucial to the outcome as the hosts just managed to cling on to their 14-month unbeaten Magners League home record. Munster had made a powerful start and it was no shock when they edged in front with a simple Paul Warwick penalty after Daryl Gibson sneaked offside in his own danger zone. The strike awoke the Warriors from their slumbers, however they were forced to reshuffle their pack as Johnnie Beattie replaced ankle injury victim Stevie Swindall. Almost immediately, Glasgow levelled the issue thanks to a pinpoint Dan Parks penalty in the wake of a sizzling move featuring World Cup colleagues Andy Henderson and Fergus Thomson. The Scots stepped up the momentum and snapped up an opportunist try. A hefty clearance down the middle by Parks sparked panic among the Munster back ranks with former Great Britain rugby league star Brian Carney letting the ball slip from his grasp in the 22-area. Ireland scrum-half Peter Stringer was then harried in possession and when the ball broke clear, it was Samoan winger Lome Fata'au who was first to react and claimed a score on his home debut. Controversy erupted a few minutes later when the Warriors were denied what looked like a valid score. Ref Jones - on the say-so of his touch judge - ruled that Chris O'Young had put his foot out of play a split-second before Thom Evans squeezed in. But television replays clearly showed that O'Young's legs had been in the air at the all-important moment when he released the ball. It was a puzzle to the Glasgow fans why the officials spurned the chance to refer the incident to the video ref. Jones again incurred the wrath of the Warriors supporters when he awarded Munster a penalty - despite the fact veteran Irish hooker Frankie Sheehan had landed a series of unprovoked punches on opposite number Thomson when a scrum disintegrated. There was still time before the break for Warwick to claw back three points for the visitors. The margin was restored in the 50th minute as Parks banged over his second penalty following back-chat by Stringer. Yet again, ref Jones was in the spotlight when he ignored a late challenge on Parks - and handed Munster a penalty when Glasgow skipper Ally Kellock complained. Justice was done as Warwick wildly hooked his 40-metre effort. Munster began to wear down the Glasgow defence and a brilliant surge by Rua Tipoki set up the equalising touchdown for centre partner Lifeimi Mafi 10 minutes from time. Mafi was then yellow-carded for a professional foul at a ruck, handing Parks the chance to reclaim the lead for the Warriors. However, he pushed it wide of the far post.
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Comments
Posted by mediumsizedal on October 27, 2007 12:00 AM | Reply to this comment Hope Swindall isn't too badly injured. Good game, thought Glasgow played well-this was a very good Munster side especially in the forwards. Thought the ref (again!!) was poor. Draw was a fair result. Front row did well and Barclay and Brown were immense. Neither side dominated, most of the game was played between the 22's and there were few try scoring chances. Good to see Parks back-his general play was very good (although he did miss 2 kicks). Very encouraging, roll on Ulster next week !! Based on this performance we have nothing to fear from any team in the League. Posted by vicki on October 27, 2007 12:50 AM | Reply to this comment Stevie was in the bar after the game, using crutches. Hope he makes a speedy recovery. Add a comment to this articleIf you're replying to an existing comment, please use the 'Reply to this comment' link above the entry. This will display the comments in a way which is far easier for other readers to follow.
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