In-form Dolphin shock Shannon
They used their game in hand to push their points total to 39 and they’re now just two adrift of fourth-placed Clontarf. Shannon, who lost this pulsating game right at the end, still managed to move into second place behind leaders Cork Constitution courtesy of the bonus point gained by finishing just five points adrift of Dolphin.
The Cork side’s coach David O’Mahony was unsurprisingly ecstatic: “It’s not bad for a team tipped as one of the favourites to be relegated at the start of the campaign.”
He praised his charges from one to 15, particularly Barry Keeshan: “I thought everyone showed huge commitment; it was a tough game against very experienced opposition. It was a game we just had to win and I think the effort showed the urgency of what we needed to do.
“I thought we showed great composure in going for the win right at the end. We had a drop goal opportunity but came back for more and the try that won the game was fantastic,” he said.
No arguments from his Shannon counterpart Michael Galwey: “The better team won. We coughed up much too much possession in the first half, failed to score in that period and Dolphin, to be fair, managed to score eight points playing against the wind in the second half when we failed to score any in the first.
“It puts a bit of pressure on us now to try to get a home semi final, but it’s a challenge we must face in the next two games. I’m sure Dolphin will be on a high after this.”
Dolphin weren’t intimidated by their opponents and bounced into a 10-point lead inside the opening quarter.
The first score came from flanker George Finn, who managed to block down an attempted clearance by Shannon out-half Joey Moran, collected and touched down under the posts.
Having won the toss and decided to play against the wind, Shannon’s scoring chances were restricted to the odd breakaway, and when their pack attempted to drive Dolphin back they were met with vigorous defending which often turned over possession.
Indeed Dolphin were worth the extra three points kicked by Keeshan from a long range penalty, and Shannon sometimes had to scramble back to stop more scores.
It didn’t help Shannon that evergreen centre Andrew Thompson was yellow carded for an off-the-ball offence, but referee George Clancy also sent Dolphin’s Fergus McCormack to the line for a late tackle.
The second half was as intense as the first, with David O’Donovan and Keeshan exchanging penalties inside the opening 10 minutes before Shannon scored a brilliant breakaway try from winger Stephen Kelly after 47 minutes and Thompson converted to narrow the gap to just three points before levelling the game with another kick 10 minutes from the end.
Dolphin launched a late offensive that nearly yielded a winning drop goal in the 77th minute, but then they produced a brilliant backline move that saw winger Peter Phelan streak away. He found Denis McCarthy inside him and the full back gave the scoring pass to Rory Kenneally at the death.
Keeshan was unable to add the extra points but the try was enough to resurrect Dolphin’s hopes of making the play-offs. Two games to go, away to both St Mary’s College and Cork Constitution; what a finish that promises to be for a team that could have been playing second division rugby this season were it not for a stroke of luck on the last day of last season.
D. McCarthy, K. Lynch, R. Kenneally, D. Richardson , P. Phelan, B. Keeshan, G. O’Keeffe, F. Gateley, A. O’Driscoll, C. Condon, F. McCormack, D. Harty, G. Finn (captain), J. Coughlan, R. Geoghegan.
: R. McGrath for McCormack, H. O’Flynn for Geoghegan (both 63), S. Heffernan for Gateley (65).
M. Lawlor, A. Finn, A. Thompson, J. Clogan, S. Kelly, J. Moran, D. O’Donovan, K. O’Neill, S. Cronin, K. Griffin, P. O’Brien, F. Walsh, C. McMahon, D. Quinlan (captain), P. O’Connor.
J. Manuel for Clogan (39, injured), J. Parangati for O’Brien, L. Hogan for O’Neill, F. O’Loughlin for Finn, temporary, J. Cronin for O’Connor (all 55).
G. Clancy (IRFU).
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