OLD BELVEDERE 15 ST. MARY’S COLLEGE 0, Anglesea Road
Scorers: Old Belvedere: Tries: David Brandon 2; Con: Steve Crosbie; Pen: Steve Crosbie
St. Mary’s College: –
HT: Old Belvedere 8 St. Mary’s College 0
Winger David Brandon helped himself to two tries as Old Belvedere ended a three-match losing streak with a 15-0 home win over St. Mary’s College on Saturday afternoon.
Recent Munster recruit Steve Crosbie kicked the other five points as ‘Belvo moved six points clear of second-from-bottom St. Mary’s, ahead of a long winter break in Division 1A action.
Centre Sean Coughlan limped out of the Belvedere team before kick-off at Anglesea Road, but the home side hit the ground running and out-half Crosbie’s delicate chip almost produced a fourth-minute breakaway try.
Mary’s were held up and turned over from a promising maul opportunity before Crosbie opened the scoring in the 17th minute, landing a long range penalty with just inches to spare.
Clear-cut scoring opportunities were few and far between during a tight and attritional first half, but ‘Belvo struck seven minutes before half-time when excellent approach work by Crosbie led to Brandon diving over in the left corner.
The try was unconverted from the touchline and although Mary’s were unable to eat into the eight-point deficit with in-form lock David O’Connor just held up, the presence of Leinster ‘A’ starlet Jordan Larmour in the visitors’ youthful back-line offer them hope.
Mary’s let Belvedere off the hook after the restart, though. With Crosbie and second row Jack Kellybeing treated for blood injuries, the Templeogue side looked set to score but young out-half Conor Dean’s attempted pass towards David Fanagan and Conor Hogan was overcooked.
Dean then watched his 40-metre penalty attempt rebound off the post and ‘Belvo showed their clinical edge in attack again in the 61st minute, working the ball wide for Brandon to finish smartly in the left corner.
Crosbie brilliantly added the extras from out wide for a 15-point advantage and although ‘Belvo lost forwards Matt Ritani and Karl Miller to yellow cards, they finished the game with a clean defensive slate.
OLD BELVEDERE: Daniel Riordan; Shane McDonald, John Kennedy, James Kearns, David Brandon; Steve Crosbie, Aaron Sheehan; Adam Howard, Cathal O’Flynn, Declan Lavery (capt), Jack Kelly, Karl Miller, Jonathan Slattery, Tom de Jongh, David Sherry.
Replacements: Andy McGrath, James McWilliams-Grey, Matt Ritani, Willie Staunton, Kyle McCarthy.
ST. MARY’S COLLEGE: David Fanagan; Conor Hogan, Ryan O’Loughlin, Paddy Lavelle, Jordan Larmour; Conor Dean, Paddy O’Driscoll; Tom O’Reilly, Richard Halpin, Brian McGovern (capt), David O’Connor, Cathal O’Flaherty, Kevin Sheahan, Nick McCarthy, Caelan Doris.
Replacements: Hugh Kelleher, Emmet Ferron, Ciaran Ruddock, Stephen O’Brien, Ian O’Neill.