There was always a whiff of cordite in the air but the great Connacht shoot-out never really caught fire. It was never a classic but then it was probably never going to be. Still, parochial factors ensured that Glenina's biggest ever crowd, swelled to near the 4,000 mark by a large travelling corps, would have found it never less than interesting, and sometimes absorbing enough in its own way.

Not unexpectedly, Galwegians' big guns rose to the occasion and gave it their best shot of the season. That was a tribute to Buccaneers, for Galwegians had to play hard and true for 80 minutes. That Buccaneers did so too, having weathered more than an hour of Galwegians' supremacy to almost provide a sting in the tale was also a tribute to these hardy boyos.

Thus not once could the Galwegians men take a deep breath and let it out easily. At times you could reach out and almost bite into the tension.

The opening salvos said it all after an immaculately observed minute's silence for the tragically premature deaths of two young players, Jonathan Flynn and Cormac Devine (heaven knows what was going through Michael Devine's mind as the two sides lined up on half-way).

The former Galwegians' player Eoin Molloy, as nervous as a kitten in a new home, kicked-off short. No bad thing for Buccaneers. Their juggernaut of a pack almost steamrollered the Galwegians' scrum into the ground. A knowing Buccaneers' support cheered loudly; Noel Mannion picking up against the head and charging forward. The battle lines were set, and Buccaneers were going to take the battle to the home side.

A more composed Galwegians held firm, holding up the line-out mauls, isolating the ball carrier and bringing him to ground. They queued up for the big runners and made the big hits, led magnificiently by Junior Charlie, Barry Gavin, Joe Casserley and when it went as far as midfield (but never any further) Buccaneers were met head on by Mervyn Murphy, as good a defensive centre as any around, and with good hands too. The ground shuddered as the immovable object ran into the indestructible force. Buccaneers began to get perceptibly rattled. Mannion lost his cool, Gavin ultimately making the bigger yardage and impact.

Thereafter, the Galwegians' scrum locked. Their line-out also did better than they could have dared hope, for although Mark McConnell won the cleaner ball his first start in three months gave way to a premature finish.

Galwegians didn't opt for shorter lineouts, preferring instead to keep the Buccaneers' forwards all together and then move them wide en bloc through the slickness of their backs or the masterful boot of Eric Elwood.

Gradually, subtlety was proving better than force and the focus shifted on and off the pitch. The game almost became Elwood's personal puppet as he dictated affairs, pinning Buccaneers in their own half. He was assisted by the excellence of Willie Ruane and Alan Reddan under the high ball as Buccaneers began to run out of ideas. By the interval, Elwood had kicked them 9-3 ahead and then they tightened the screw as the prodigal's prodigious boot stretched them further ahead.

In truth, the Galwegians backs should have varnished the occasion with a try, given some of the quicker ruck ball and deft midfield moves which punctured the renowned Buccaneers' defence. That would have given the scoreline a truer gloss, and will rankle with the home dressing-room, while giving some crumb of credit and pride to the visitors.

Thus, although Elwood was striking the ball well, a below par return of five from nine meant Galwegians couldn't shake Buccaneers off, all the more so after they repelled scrums on their line only for Philip Lynch to go blind and deftly put the impressive Buccaneers' tearaway Owen Brennan over with an inside pass.

Hence when Murray Whyte finally signalled an end to it all, the Galwegians' reaction was akin to one of those autumnal Connacht climaxes. They jumped into each others arms, punched the air, yelped with delight. This mattered.

"We're delighted. I think we kept our shape that bit better," commented Galwegians' co-coach Bart Fannin, "and probably had more to our game. But having said that it was very tight. We should have put it away."

Buccaneers coach Eddie O'Sullivan accepted that they "lost their way" for the middle chunk of the game, adding: "I think Eric kept them positionally in the game and the ball in behind us. We never really got out of our half. I've no complaints. They deserved to win on the day and Eric was the key man."

Buccaneers have a home game against Skerries to bounce back. Given their superior points' differential, as long as they can keep winning it gives Galwegians little or no margin for error.

"It's a long road ahead yet. If they perform like that for another seven matches they'll win the division and I'd have no doubts about that." But O'Sullivan, Buccaneers and the chasing pack will justifiably cling to the hope that Galwegians won't always be able to.

There won't be any more 4,000 crowds and top-of-the-table derbies to motivate the leaders. Furthermore, each of their remaining seven opponents will raise themselves more for the Galwegians stars than against anyone else.

In theory though, Galwegians should be the better for this big win. Indeed, next week's visit of Instonians may tell us more about Galwegians than last Saturday. It was easy to get up for this game. But a reproduction of this form will prove that, post-Connacht, Galwegians have at last found the identity they were looking for.

In my preview I erroneously wrote that Buccaneers were an amalgamation of Athlone and Westport. They are, of course, an amalgamation of Athlone and Ballinasloe. Mea culpa.