AIB Cup/Shannon 12 Blackrock 9:A cool head from outhalf Mossy Lawlor ensured Blackrock's valiant efforts in the AIB League senior cup final at Dubarry Park went unrewarded and continued Shannon's recent dominance of domestic rugby.
After being outplayed from the first whistle by their opponents, Shannon found themselves level at 9-9 with eight minutes to go and Lawlor's second drop-kick under the posts and under pressure sealed the win.
Deliberate obstruction of Shane Monahan as he chipped in behind the Shannon defence gave Rock fullback Fionn Carr chance to open the scoring.
In blustery conditions Carr looked to have hooked the kick to the left but the flags went up for a 3-0 lead to Blackrock.
Rock sought to impose their expansive style on the game and captain Des Dillon relentlessly drove his men forward territorially. Rock's discipline let them down at key moments, however, and poor decision making from outhalf Kyle Tonetti and his reluctance to kick hampered their progress.
Nevertheless, they opened up a six-point gap when Shannon blindside flanker Philip O'Connor was sin-binned for an off the ball incident.
Carr, who was involved in everything good about Rock's early play, again swung the kick in from right to left and this time it was to perfection.
With a man extra, Rock tasted blood. Dillon and hooker Shane Byrne led the way, calling on every ounce of Shannon energy when going through the phases 10 metres from their opponent's line.
A promising position was wasted, however, when Tonetti's rushed inside pass and the subsequent knock-on led to Andy Finn clearing his lines with a perfectly weighted kick that forced Carr into touch.
Not for the first time Dillon and co disrupted well and possession was briefly returned to Rock before the captain failed to roll away and O'Donovan took his chance to half the deficit.
For all their effort, however, Rock held a slender 6-3 lead at the break and it had disappeared minutes into the second half when O'Donovan struck another penalty after a brilliant break from openside Colm McMahon.
As the conditions eased, Shannon found their feet and after making good ground through Kelly on the left wing Lawlor showed a cool head to drop his side into the lead.
Carr struck his third penalty immediately afterwards but Lawlor, who was starting at outhalf for just the third time this season, beautifully clipped the ball over from close range.
A Rock rally followed, but Shannon were disciplined in defence and ultimately their opponents were punished for not being able to convert possession into points.
SHANNON:A Finn; D O'Donovan, Kinsella, J Clogan, S Kelly; M Lawler, F O'Loughlin; Kilian O'Neill, S Cronin, K Griffin; P O'Brien, D Ryan; P O'Connor, C McMahon, D Quinlan (capt).
BLACKROCK:Fionn Carr; Simon Monaghan, G Brown, B Canavan, David Rowan; K Tonetti, D Madigan; K Moloney, S Byrne, R Burke Flynn; D Dillon (capt), P Huntley; P Ryan, Z Farivarz, P Graham.
Referee:Simon McDowell
•In today's AIB Junior Cup final, Tullamore beat Navan 20-6 at Dubarry Park, Athlone
