Anglesea Road FIVE penalties by Andrew Thompson gave Shannon a hard won victory over Old Belvedere at Anglesea Road yesterday.

The Munster men got quite a fright against the Old Belvedere forwards following their promotion from Division Two last year. The home side put three points on the board with a Richie Murphy penalty after 10 minutes, but man of the match Andrew Thompson equalised within two minutes.

Old Belvedere commanded the match for most of the first half but allowed Shannon to go ahead with another Thompson penalty after 30 minutes. Old Belvedere struck back with a spectacular try involving a quick series of passes before number three Brad Kose finally crossed the line.

Thompson hit back after half-time with three penalties as Shannon took control of the game helped by indiscipline from the home forwards. Despite the close finish, Old Belvedere will regret not taking advantage of their early superiority.