The outcome looked inevitable as soon as St Marys notched up two tries within ten minutes of each other in the opening half , and then they looked as if they’d cut loose in the second half with memories of Shannon’s last catastrophic outing in Templeville Road beginning to surface.
That thankfully didn’t transpire, but the home side did manage to add two further tries to see Shannon chase a 24 nil lead with 20 minutes remaining on the clock.
If credit is to be handed out to Shannon, then it will be for the manner in which they faced the mounting scoreline. A very strong finish saw them cross the line twice which had their loyal support wondering how it took them so long to get a try.
We started this report by mention regret and one of those regrets will be Shannon’s lack of a killer blow when they were close to the Marys line, especially in the opening 20 minutes where they looked most likely to score first. Frequently they were in promising positions, but a number of errors, including knock ons, needless penalty infringements, and turnovers cost them their chance to score. That said, St Marys defended extremely well when confronted with Shannon’s barrage so they too can claim some credit for keeping their line intact.
Another of Shannon’s regrets will come in the manner in which St Marys scored some of their tries. The mantra of first up tackles is instilled in all rugby players from a young age, but sometimes it’s easier said than done. The opening St Marys try came in the 22nd minute when St Marys' nippy scrum half Matt Darcy slipped through a couple of would be Shannon tacklers from 12 metres out. That all came from a loose clearance after Fergal Walsh stole a St Marys 5 metre lineout and while Shannon looked to have sufficient numbers , it came down to the tackle.
You could see St Marys' confidence rise. After all, they probably played second fiddle to Shannon for that opening quarter, but once they found a chink they began to exploit it rather successfully. Their backs have pace, and weren’t shy about using it. Full back Conor Hogan was a threat, so too was former Shannon player Marcus O’Driscoll, who played well throughout. It was Hogan that set up the next try in the 32nd minute with a searing break into Shannon’s 22.The line beckoned after he glided through a plethora of Shannon bodies, but in came Richie Mullane to halt his progress from a distance, however a swift recycle saw winger Ray Crotty dive into the corner for a 12-0 St Marys lead.
Half time came after another couple of unsuccessful Shannon forays into the Marys’ 22 and, a missed Tadgh Bennett penalty albeit from a really tough position.
Despite trailing, Shannon continued to try hard and again they had a good opening 10 minutes of the second half, but the same story crops up in their inability to capitalise on promising positions. Marys absorbed and struck with a clinical nature which Shannon surely envied.
The 51st minute saw one of their pack, Damian Hall get in on the try scoring acts when he exploited a poorly defended ruck 3 metres out and the task facing the visitors exponentially increased. 
It became almost mission impossible when Marcus O’Driscoll capped off a fine performance with a try just before the 60 minute mark. If their previous three tries were defendable, than Marys forth was well executed, and Shannon couldn’t really beat themselves up over it. Simply, it was a case of phase building and striking out wide when the numbers game tallied. 24 nil and alarm bells were beginning to tingle for Shannon.
That Shannon never capitulated, is one of the positive features for Keoghs men and had they found the confidence shown in the final 20 minutes , then perhaps matters may well have panned our differently.
Individually they had some outstanding
performances, albeit from a defensive perspective in the main. Paddy Butler was immense, and his tackle count exceeded everyone on the pitch by a long way. It was probably fitting that Shannon’s three most impressive performers had a hand in their two late tries. Ritchie Mullane’s little chip and chase set up James Murphy for the 76th minute effort after Butler was on hand to give the final pass and then it was Mullane and Murphy that teamed up again for the next and final try.(Click for Video of Murphy's try)
This time Murphy was held up inches short, but managed to get the pass to the supporting Conor Cunnane who had the easy task of touching the ball down.
Too little, too late? Perhaps, but those two excellent tries demonstrated what Shannon were well capable of when they had a touch of confidence, but in the end, it’s all about an 80 minute game and St Marys certainly had one of those.
Shannon
M.Lawler, S.McNamara, R.Mullane, J. Clogan, C. Cunnane, T.Bennett, R.Guerin, L.Hogan, J.Deegan, K. Griffin, D.Heffernan, F.Walsh, S. Keogh, P.Butler, D.Quinlan.
Replacements all used, A. O’Brien, G. McNamara, J. Murphy, A. Bennie, and A. Spring.