Pre-Season Friendly 26/08/2017 Monivea 19 Longford 31

Longford RFC Senior men got their new season preparations off to a fine start, showing that their build up to the Midlands Leagues is going well, with a solid win on the road over Connacht League Champions Monivea.

The introduction of some fresh faces, like Ciaran O'Gorman, sees the team return to the fray with a strengthened panel. O'Gorman is the most recent addition and has been capped five timse for Ireland's AIL team at international level.

The flanker was just one of 25 players to get pitch time in the game. This was a well contested outing with some exciting passages of play. Both sides worked hard for possession and grafted to rid themselves of the pre-season rustiness.

Longford crossed the whitewash five time with Lorcan Connollly, Sean Flynn, Barry Stewart, Joe McGowan and Paul Gallogly all scoring for the visitors. The points haul was completed with three conversions by Colm Glynn.

All told this was just a build up for this Saturday's Midland League clash against Edenderry. Longford will be hoping for revenge against the Offaly men who got one over on the men in black last season.

There are several new and emerging Longford players who will be pushing for place in the first team and the competition for jerseys should make this an engaging encounter.

Kick off at CPL Park this Saturday is 8:00 PM.