Lansdowne still in chase

LANSDOWNE were in danger of setting themselves further adrift of Shannon, until a controlled response to Old Wesley's desperate fight to avoid the relegation quick sand left home supporters still nurturing thoughts of the unlikely.

Lansdowne are laced with quality players, even if this was not a quality performance, and should Shannon trip themselves up, Lansdowne will be ready to step into the breach.

With Eric Elwood, Mark McDermott, Kurt McQuilkin, Roddie Corrigan and Richard Corrigan injured, Lansdowne were forced to dip into their pool of reserves. Fortunately right wing Marcus Dillon's happy knack for finishing off the slightest sniff of an opportunity was once again in evidence.

Of course, Wesley also had to reshuffle their forces because of injury. A Wesley side without Chris Pim's rugged leadership is often vulnerable around the fringes. This was the case on Saturday. Stephen Rooney and Andrew Doyle formed a tireless back row with Colin McEntee, who left the field in the 60th minute with torn ankle ligaments.

A third minute try from Wesley left wing Colin Younger put them in front for the only time in the game, before Dillon wrested back the lead for Lansdowne.

From there on it became a bit of a pushover for Lansdowne. McEntee got the touch when his pack heaved Wesley back over their line from a five metre scrum, as Wesley's Simon Mitchell kept them in the neighbourhood with his kicking.