Crescent get fright as battling Glenstal run them close

Crescent Comprehensive 10 Glenstal Abbey 9

This was certainly a wake-up call for Crescent who were driven on to the back foot in the opening 20 minutes by the speed and outstanding support play of the Glenstal pack and a clever back division fully capable of putting the brisk wind at their backs to the most fruitful use.

At this point, no one was doing better than the diminutive but hugely effective Glen hooker Paul Coghlan, and Kevin O’Callaghan, who was dominating the line-outs.

Possession flowed freely in the direction of out-half Denis Halton who handled, passed and kicked effectively while also slotting over penalties in the third and 15th minutes that put his side into a well deserved 6-0 lead.

Gradually, however, the Crescent pack got to grips with the situation. Skipper Richard Leonard and hooker David Griffin were crucial figures in the tight exchanges and outstanding open side flanker Barry O’Mahony and back-row colleagues Diarmuid Maguire and Oisin Keely were constantly prominent in the loose.

They also negated Glenstal’s line-out edge through clever variation of the throw while they were the stronger unit in the mauls and rucks.

This advantage told after 22 minutes when Barry O’Mahony claimed a throw and was quickly surrounded by his teammates who mauled the ball a good 15 before crashing over for a try credited to Maguire.

Paddy Carroll judged the swirling wind to perfection in adding the points and Crescent had little trouble in retaining their point advantage until the interval.

With the elements in their favour, it looked a comfortable situation for Crescent, especially when Carroll landed a penalty goal four minutes into the second period.

However, he was off target with two more shots and while Crescent continued to enjoy territorial advantage, their attacks lacked a cutting edge. Glenstal defended stubbornly and also demonstrated that they, too, could maul to considerable advantage.

A few tactical switches including Jerome Kennedy’s introduction for Halton at out-half worked well.

They regained the momentum in commendable fashion and with Crescent failing to close down a game they must have felt should have already been in safe keeping, they narrowed the gap to a single point when Kennedy kicked a fine penalty into the wind with six minutes remaining.

At least one crucial 50-50 decision in a kickable position went against Glen who were still pressing when the final whistle sounded.

CRESCENT: S. Scanlon; C. Ahern, M. South, P. Carroll, D. Murphy; R. O’Sullivan, N. Mulvihill; R. Leonard capt, D. Griffin, B. Storan, B. Lynch, C. Harbison, D. Maguire, B. O’Mahony, O. Keely. Replacements, H. Mulcahy for Mulvihill 58 mins; D. Waters for O’Sullivan 68.

GLENSTAL: C. Quinn; D. O’Keeffe, D. Hurley, M. De Vere White, B. Talbot; D. Halton, J. Morton; G. McCarthy, P. Coghlan, B. Walsh, M. Aston, K. O’Callaghan, K. Lannen, F. Magee, M. Nagle capt. Replacements, C. Quinn for Morton 45 mins; J. Kennedy and K. Timmons for Halton and Walsh 64.

REFEREE: T. Collins (IRFU).