Clontarf come of age with win over Shannon

CLONTARF, it could be said, came of age on Saturday when they snatched the AIB League points from Shannon in a dramatic finale at Thomond Park.

They lost twice to the Limerick giants last season and by the agonisingly narrow margin of 15-12 in the semi-final. Revenge, not

suprisingly, was on their minds and how sweetly it was attained.

Shannon were clinging on to a single point lead when Clontarf's debutant right-winger Niall O'Brien glided through a gap in the home defence in the 89th-minute and raced behind the posts for a converted try that gave them victory by 17-11. It was a result their sizeable band of supporters and players enthusiastically celebrated at the final whistle and leaves them joint leaders of the division one table.

"It's a big thing for any team to come down here and beat Shannon," claimed Clontarf coach Phil Werahiko. O'Brien's late try saved the blushes of his full-back Daragh O'Shea, who missed four shots at goal in the second half as the big 'Tarf pack gained the upperhand for much of the proceedings as the lighter Shannon eight struggled without all of their contracted players and with Eddie Halvey and Mick Galwey remaining on the bench until the action was more than half over. "I was pleased that Bernard Jackman got the man of the match award but he was just one of many who played well," said Werahikp. "To beat Shannon, you can't just have one individual play well but obviously he stood out and deserved his accolade. The rest of the pack were also superb and to beat Shannon you have to cope at the front and we were there today."

One of the smallest crowds I have seen at a home Shannon match watched what for the most part was a mediocre game on a very cold afternoon. Shannon, while accepting that the better side won on the day, made no secret of their dissatisfaction at the performance of Ulster referee Charlie Beverland but can have no real complaints at an outcome that at least yielded them the bonus point their efforts certainly merited. Their first half try John Hadnett was a beauty as somehow a series of players managed to get their passes away as the tackles went in. That score came after 11 minutes and moved Shannon 5-3 in front. But Clontarf's supremacy up front manifested itself crucially on twenty minutes when Andy Wood, who had a fine game in the second-row, won a line-out and the pack rumbled over for Jackman to get the touchdown.

Daragh O'Shea's conversion made it 10-8 to the visitors at the interval but he might well have broken 'Tarf hearts as he scorned a whole host of second half opportunities to put the game out of Shannon reach. They also threw away a couple of gilt-edged try scorining opportunities, number eight Dave Moore being whistled back for accidental offside after getting over at a scrum on the line and O'Brien scorching over in the corner only to be called back for having put a foot in touch. But they finished in style with O'Brien's try immediately followed by the impressive fashion in which they dealt with a maul after a line-out close to their own line. CLONTARF: D. O'Shea; N. O'Brien, C. Mahony, J. Downey, O. Winchester; D. Hewitt, M. Wall; A. Clarke, B. Jackman, W. O'Kelly capt, B. Gissing, A. Wood, D. Quinn, S. O'Donnell, D. Moore. Replacements, G. Rossi, R. O'Reilly and C. Power for Downey, Wall and Wood, all 75 mins.

SHANNON: J. Lacey; N. McNamara, A. Thompson, E. Cahill, C. McMahon; D. Delany, F. O'Loughlin; J. Hickey, F. Roche, G. McNamara, T. Hogan, T. Hayes, J. Hadnett, G. Noonan, D. Quinlan capt. Replacements, E. Halvey for Quinlan half time; M. Galwey for Hadnett 48; N. Conroy for Roche 56; T. Buckley for Hickey 58.

Referee: C. Beverland (Ulster).