Navan Men's 1st XV suffered a heartbreaking last-minute defeat against Old Crescent in their final away fixture of the season in Limerick.
Despite leading five minutes from time, a late drop goal saw Old Crescent snatch a 16-14 victory, leaving Navan in a precarious position in the league table.
Old Crescent opened the scoring with an early penalty after 10 minutes (3-0). Another penalty 27 minutes in doubled their advantage to 6-0.
Navan responded in the 32nd minute, with Harry Watters scoring his first-ever All-Ireland League try, converted by Tom Gavigan to give Navan a 7-6 halftime lead.
The hosts came out firing in the second half and were awarded a penalty try in the 56th minute, following a dominant scrum (13-7).
Navan fought back and regained the lead five minutes from full-time with a penalty try (13-14).
Just as it seemed Navan would hold on, Old Crescent landed a late drop goal two minutes from the end, sealing a 16-14 win.
The result, combined with other league results, means Navan drop to ninth place and now face a must-win final match against Greystones at Balreask Old next Saturday. They will also need favorable results elsewhere to avoid the promotion/relegation playoff.
Navan Men's 1st XV Squad "Sponsored by Hannon Travel": Rory Gordon; Harry Watters, Sean McEntagart, Evan Dixon (capt), Shane Walshe; Tom Gavigan, Mark Farrell; Liam Carroll, Gary Faulkner, Jordan Finney, Liam McAree, Eoghan Noonan, Kyle Dixon, Ben McEntagart, Tom Ciot.
Replacements: Anthony Martinez, Leigh Jackson, Conor Ryan, Michael Brady, Harry Devlin.