Impressive Shannon ease drop fears

The reception Shannon received from their ecstatic fans as they trooped off the Coonagh pitch spoke volumes for the sense of relief felt by those from the Limerick club.

They are not assured of retaining their Division One status in the Ulster Bank All-Ireland League but the 21-3 defeat of fellow strugglers Blackrock College makes their task against Dolphin in the final match of the season at Musgrave Park on Saturday much easier.

They are now third from bottom on 26 points, one ahead of Old Belvedere and four clear of Blackrock who look certain for the drop to Division 1B.

Player coach Stephen Keogh, however, is taking nothing for granted. He knows a loss against Dolphin and a win on the same afternoon for Old Belvedere would put them into a play-off against the side second in Division 1B.

“It’s down to the wire and we have to go down and beat Dolphin,” Keogh acknowledged. “I told the lads inside, that’s just half-time and we have to go and play another half. If we lose next week, we’re still in the same position as if we lost (on Saturday). This was a good performance and a big improvement but next week is our cup final and that’s the way we’re preparing for it.”

Saturday’s game was well advanced before Shannon finally clinched the four points and also crucially ensured that Blackrock would leave empty handed. They looked in control when leading 5-0 at half-time through a splendid Conor Cunnane try after 10 minutes and playing against a very strong wind. However, more than an hour elapsed before three quick penalties by Tadgh Bennett put the issue beyond doubt. The visitors narrowed the gap with a Darragh Fitzpatrick penalty but Shannon had the last word, another fine try by scrum-half Rob Guerin that Bennett converted. However Keogh admitted they had made heavy weather of things.

“That’s been our problem all season,” he said. “You can’t fault the honesty of the lads but we’ve had to work so hard for our scores. We need a little more composure inside their 22 and not getting white line fever and going for scores that probably aren’t on. We’re all desperate to score, we’re all desperate to win and that’s what happens when you’re going through a bad patch. Talk of relegation for a club like this is not easy to take. If you’re backed into a corner, you either lie down or come out fighting and guys have to take the pressure and see how they react. We have a young team, a lot of young fellas who put their heart and soul into it. They’re the future of the club and in these economic times, not everyone is staying in Limerick so it’s very hard to build a team. But we’ll keep working at it.”

SHANNON: R Mullane; M Darcy, M Lawler, J Clogan, C Cunnane; T Bennett, R Guerin; K O’Neill, D Fitzpatrick, K Griffin, D Heffernan, F Walsh, S Keogh, J Murphy, D Quinlan.

BLACKROCK COLLEGE: A Letham; M Scott Lennon, J Simon Byrne, R Keogh, D Rowan; D Fitzpatrick, M Walsh; S Byrne, R Fisher, A Lyons, D Dillon, S Dunlop, M McKeever, B Kelly, D Mannion.

Replacements: S Birch, T Moran, P McCauge, B Macken.

Referee: D Wilkinson (Ulster).