St Mary's ... 26 Shannon ... 21: Some things change, but some things stay the same. The crowds may have come and gone, but though there were merely a thousand AIB League punters at Templeville Road on Saturday, two of the first division's four ever-presents were again setting a good benchmark. Full of positive intentions, this had ebb and it had flow. Gerry Thornley at Templeville Road
As is also custom in this fixture, St Mary's just about got there in the end to register a sixth successive home win over their old foes. Nevertheless, a double whammy early in the second half appeared to have tilted the game toward the champions, so much so St Mary's coach Brent Pope turned to his Shannon counterpart Geoff Moylan on the sidelines and said: "You're going to turn the screw."
"To be honest I thought we were," admitted Moylan.
That they didn't largely hinged on one moment after 65 minutes, and Pope was honest enough to admit it came against the run of play when, with Shannon again putting a promising drive together, the ball bounced off Colm McMahon's shoulder.
As is the best policy off turnover ball, St Mary's quickly moved the ball wide. John McWeeney appeared in midfield to make big inroads, and replacement Paul Kelly did really well not only to drive on but then offloaded from the deck for the supporting John Ryan to score.
Gamely though they tried, Shannon were chasing the game for a second time after that, and this time against the clock. What's more, it gave the St Mary's pack a lift, the impressive Simon Keogh keeping the ball in front of them and kicking to the corners as the home side held out.
"That was a good advert for the AIL," observed Moylan, and Pope concurred. Admittedly there were a nucleus of provincial and/or contracted players on view, and in a league where the old maxim that anybody can beat anybody else on a given day has probably more truth than ever, they can make all the difference.
Here it's doubtful whether St Mary's would have won without Shane Jennings. A class player, his ability to steal or delay Shannon ball at the breakdown proved a thorn in Shannon's side. Fittingly, it was his big play near the end, when stealing the ball in the tackle and single-handedly dragging St Mary's upfield, that effectively settled the win. Though Lynn's knock-on fouled up a four-man overlap, consolation came by way of the outhalf's fourth penalty which left Shannon in need of a try.
Gavin Hickie revelling in a full, competitive 80 minute run-out, made another major contribution, with the home side's vastly superior lineout also a key factor. Here again Shannon were hampered by the broken nose Frankie Roche sustained last week, for James Blaney had had little time with his club colleagues.
Jennings' counterpart, Colm McMahon, made some big charges but had been troubled by a shoulder injury and "did us a favour by playing", admitted Moylan. Not, he stressed, that he was looking for excuses.
Describing Shannon's status as 2 to 1 favourites for the league as "absolutely ridiculous", Moylan was equally dismissive of the 20 to 1 odds on St Mary's. "I don't think you'll find them at 20 to 1 tomorrow. They're going to have a good season and very few teams are going to come out of here with a win."
Both sides "will be there or thereabouts", according to Pope, who emphasised how important it was for his young team not to go to Cork Con next week with the additional pressure of a home defeat behind them.
"I've got a feeling like I did four years ago," he said in reference to their league triumph. "We might have Nathan Spooner back next week and will have a super backline some days, so I've put the responsibility on our forwards to give our backs the ball. I'm happy enough with our first effort and people seem to have enjoyed it, which is important if we're going to get the crowds back."
Well after it was all over Shannon were still huddled in the middle of the pitch, vowing to stick closer together and rebound, and no doubt they'll draw strength from this opening day setback. They lost in UCD on the first day last season as well.
"The AIL has never been won in October and it won't be this year," observed Moylan.
SCORING SEQUENCE
5 mins: Lynn pen 3-0
14 mins: Gannon try, Lynn con 10-0
33 mins: Lynn pen 13-0
40 mins: Walters pen 13-3
Half-time: St Mary's 13, Shannon 3
45 mins: Lynn pen 16-3
47 mins: Walters try and con 16-10
51 mins: O'Neill try 16-15
63 mins: Walter pen 16-18
67 mins: Ryan try, Lynn con 23-18
77 mins: Walters pen 23-21
82 mins: Lynn pen 26-21.
ST MARY'S COLLEGE: D Hughes; C McPhillips, K Lewis, G Gannon (capt), J McWeeney; B Lynn, S Keogh; P Coyle, G Hickie, D Clare, J Ryan, G Logan, E Keane, J George, S Jennings. Replacements: P Kelly for George (59 mins).
SHANNON: D Walters; J O'Neill, N McNamara, E Cahill, A Thompson; D Delaney, F O'Loughlin; J Hickey, J Blaney, G McNamara, T Hogan, T Hayes, G Noonan, D Quinlan, C McMahon. Replacements: E Halvey for Noonan (21-31 mins and 41 mins), T Buckley for Hickey, J Hadnett for Halvey (68 mins).
Referee: D McHugh (IRFU).
