Four second half red cards and an ugly sideline incident spoiled Mount Sion's 0-21 to 0-15 win over Ferrybank in the first Waterford SHC Quarter Final on Friday evening at Walsh Park.
Referee Seaghan Walsh dismissed Ferrybank defender Graham Coady with eleven minutes left on two yellow cards. Manager Paddy Mullally then saw red for his protests along the sideline. In the last minute, both sets of mentors clashed in front of the main stand which resulted in further red cards for Ferrybank selector John Burns and Mount Sion selector Ricky Freeman.
A third quarter purple patch saw Sion progress to the last four. Jamie O'Meara's charges blitzed their opponents by seven points to one in that period. Austin Gleeson (0-9), Alan Kirwan (0-4) and Jamie Gleeson (0-2) helped them to a hard fought win. Thirteen wides will be a worry ahead of the semis.
Despite the absence of towering forward MJ Sutton, 2023 Premier Intermediate champions Ferrybank put it up to the Monastery men. Mark O'Brien shot ten points while Ruaidhri McGarrity, Caolan Mac Cathmhaoil and Robbie Carew also took the fight.
Wind assisted Sion led 5-1 after twelve minutes. Austin Gleeson slotted three frees while Adam Regan and Alan Kirwan scored from play. Mark O'Brien was then hauled to the ground by Mikey Daykin when he had a clear run on goal. The Mount Sion captain received a yellow card.
Ferrybank levelled the match by the 25th minute at seven points each. O'Brien accounted for six (five frees) while the Mac Cathmhaoil brothers (Naoise and Caolan) struck long range efforts. Sion shot nine wides but two Kirwan points and one from Donal Power in injury time left them 11-8 ahead at the break.
The Monastery men outscored their opponents 7-1 in the third quarter. An over the shoulder point from Gleeson, without looking at the posts, the pick of the bunch as O'Meara's men moved 18-9 up.
The loss of Graham Coady fired up Ferrybank as Robbie Carew rifled over two points. With five minutes left, Daykin made a goal saving block on O'Brien before Ruaidhri McGarrity pointed off the rebound (0-19 to 0-15). Another Daykin block resulted in a Ferrybank 65 but O'Brien missed the target. Late scores from Jamie Meaney and Jamie Gleeson sealed Sion's last four spot.
