Crescent make their point

WITH just one win between these two clubs in Division One before Saturday, the chasm dividing both of them from the leaders was vast. Survival was the name of their game.

Perhaps then, Old Crescent wanted this win a little more than their opponents. After all, they were coming to Dublin pointless. As it turned out like so often in the past the capital proved to be a fruitful hunting ground for Limerick men.

Crescent methodically picked Wesley apart. "We needed to put them under pressure and force them into mistakes. So, we decided to keep the ball in play rather than kick to touch," revealed Old Crescent coach Jed O'Dwyer.

This worked like a charm. While Wesley full back Conor Hoey generally returned Stephen Tuohy's and Paul MacDonagh's raking kicks with interest, his pack were, more often than not, slow in support.

With Len Dineen and Liam Toland patrolling the fringes with a cutting edge, the home side were bereft of ideas on how best to hurt Crescent.

And if Stephen Tuohy's three drop goal attempts were almost laughable, his penalty kicking was anything but. He kicked six out of seven attempts to give the Crescent forwards their reward.

Indeed, Tuohy's only hiccup came from his easiest penalty. In the 75th minute, and with Old Crescent 15-6 ahead, he could have kicked a 20 yard award straight in front of goal with his eyes closed. Perhaps he did. The ball rebounded off the upright. The ironic cheer from the Crescent supporters told its own story. The game had already been won.

Three Tuohy penalties found the range before half time. Adrian Hawe sent over the first of his two penalties in the 18th minute. It was the only time Wesley were alongside Crescent on the scoreboard.

Old Wesley coach Mark Duffy put the loss down to a lack of possession. "We couldn't get any momentum going. The Crescent lineout was superb. It did a lot of damage to our game plan, and then Len Dineen is so strong around the sides of the rucks."