Shannon flex their muscles

Shannon's experience, composure and forward-power combined to thwart Harlequins' efforts to get a morale-boosting win in their quest for safety.

A bright opening by the home side was followed by a period of Shannon domination by the forwards that eventually proved the foundation for the visitors' victory.

Harlequins, hoping to build on last week's win against Lansdowne, opened brightly with an early penalty from outhalf Paul Hancock but were unable to press home their initial advantage. Shannon grew in confidence as the match progressed and came close to scoring after 25 minutes when full-back John Lacey thundered through but was held up just short of the Harlequins' line.

An Andrew Thompson penalty was all Shannon had to show for expending a considerable amount of effort. However, they stepped up their momentum considerably in the early stages of the second half.

Lacey, who had posed an ongoing threat to the Harlequins cover, swooped to pick up after a kick through and touched down for a try.

It was this score that ignited the Shannon pack and they kept their hosts pegged back in their own territory, dominated in the tight and carved out a steady supply of second-phase possession. The Harlequins defence absorbed the barrage but in the 60th minute Shannon left-winger Maurice Lawlor meekly dropped a goal to put his side 11-6 in front.

It was a further tonic for the visitors. Lawlor extended their lead in the 68th minute when he was on hand to take a pass following a charge by prop Marcus Horan and got over the home line for Thompson to add the points.

Harlequins maintained their effort but found the Shannon defence resolute. Harlequins' inability to get the ball out to their wings militated against their chances of real penetration. It was not until the last minute that Gerard O'Loan managed to force his way in for a try after a sustained bout of pressure in the Shannon 22.

Niall Malone added the points but Shannon held out to collect their win.

BELFAST HARLEQUINS: N Malone; R Collins, S Coulter, S Dick, R Morrow; P Hancock, D Spence; S Best, M Humphreys, C Boyd, K Rabie, D Irwin, C Galway, N Best, G O'Loan.

SHANNON: J Lacey; Jason Hayes, A Thompson, J Davis, M Lawlor; D Delaney, C O'Loughlin; M Horan, F Roach, John Hayes, M Galwey, J Langford, B Buckley, D Quinlan, A Foley.

Referee: D Tyndall (Leinster).