Connacht 75
Cetransa El Salvador 8

Connacht smashed all previous records at the Sportsground on Friday evening when they trounced Spanish side Cetransa El Salvador in the European Challenge Cup.

SCORING SPREE . . . Connacht winger Ofisa Treviranus holds off the challenge of Cetransa El Salvador centre Raul Turrion during Friday night's rout of the Spanish side in the European Challenge Cup at the Sportsground. Photo: Reg Gordon.

This was Connacht's biggest ever winning margin and their haul of thirteen tries surpassed their previous best when they scored ten against Amatori Catania a few years ago.

More importantly, it got Michael Bradley's men back on track in the pool and will send them into next Friday's Magners League clash with Ulster at the Sportsground in a confident frame of mind. Danny Riordan, in for his first start of the season after coming back from injury, became only the third Connacht player to score a hat-trick of tries in an European fixture.

Wingers Aidan Wynne and Ofisa Treviranus, neither of who had scored for Connacht before, helped themselves to a brace of tries each as Bradley's men went on a scoring spree.

Nine Connacht players crossed the Spanish line as Connacht displayed a ruthless streak from the outset.

The game was over as contest by the interval as Connacht opened a 39-3 lead with seven tries, just two of which were converted into the wind by Tim Donnelly.

El Salvador managed a sixth minute penalty from out-half Redgart Van Eyk ? much to the delight of their noisy band of followers ? after Conor O'Loughlin had started the rout with the first touchdown after less than two minutes.

The Connacht pack was always on top against the Spanish part-times and this gave them the possession to spray the ball wide incessantly.

Connacht did not rest on their laurels after the restart and scored six more tries with prop Brett Wilkinson joining their band of first-time scorers.

Flanker Ivan Criado ? one of nine Spanish internationals on duty ? got a consolation try for El Salvador after 52 minutes but Connacht finished strongly with four more tries.

Connacht
Tries: Riordan (3), Wynne (2), Treviranus (2), O'Loughlin, Morris, Wilkinson, Swift, Muldoon, Ofisa.
Cons: Donnelly (3), Durcan (2).

Cetransa El Salvador
Try: Criado
Pen: Van Eyk

Connacht: G Duffy; O Treviranus, D Riordan, K Matthews, A Wynne; T Donnelly, C O'Loughlin; B Wilkinson, A Flavin, R Morris; M Swift, A Farley; M McCarthy, R Ofisa, J Muldoon.
Replacements: D Yapp for Treviranus, half-time; J Merrigan for Flavin, 48 mins; R Loughney for Morris, 48 mins; C McPhillips for O'Loughlin, 54 mins; A Browne for Farley, 54 mins; P Durcan for Donnelly, 56 mins.

Cetransa El Salvador: I Gutiérrez; T Brouwer, J Revilla, R Turrión, L Stanley; R Van Eyk, AN Other; I Insausti, D Zarzosa, J Zapatero; S Souto, F Galloppa; A Mata, I Criado, C Souto.
Replacements: M Serrano for Zarzosa, 26 mins; D Norate for Souto, half-time; O Benito for Mata, 56 mins; C Caballero for Insausti, 66 mins; F Suarez for Galloppa, 71 mins; L Gascon for Gutierrez, 80 mins.

Referee: G Morris (Wales).

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