Second-half surge steers Mount Sion to an 11-point success
Mount Sion's Stephen Roche gets away from Dungarvan's Donnacha Hayes - Hamilton during their JJ Kavanagh & Sons Co. Senior hurling championship clash played at Azzurri Walsh Park. Photos: Maurice Hennebry
Austin Gleeson made a 17-minute appearance for Mount Sion as the city side returned to winning ways with an emphatic 11-point victory over Dungarvan in the sunshine at Azzurri Walsh Park on Saturday evening in Round 3 of the JJ Kavanagh & Sons County Senior Hurling Championship.
The Monastery Men will be delighted with the result. All six starting forwards got on the scoresheet, as did both midfielders, two defenders and two substitutes, underlining the all-round nature of their attacking display.
However, there was a note of concern for the Mount Sion management team as Jamie Meaney was forced off midway through the second half in considerable pain with what appeared to be a serious leg injury. If Mount Sion are to mount a serious challenge to Ballygunner in the coming weeks, they can ill-afford to lose key players, particularly regular starters and impactful options from the bench.
The defeat leaves Dungarvan still searching for their first win of the campaign. With three teams set to be relegated at the end of the season – including Ballygunner's second string – their position is becoming increasingly precarious.
Their one source of encouragement may be that Ballygunner's second team and a struggling Lismore side are in the same group, with the latter appearing to be in significant difficulty as the competition reaches its halfway stage.
Just two points separated the teams at half-time, with Mount Sion holding a narrow 0-12 to 0-10 advantage. Dungarvan remained firmly in contention thanks largely to the accuracy of free-taker Ryan McGovern, who struck six points during the opening period.
Mount Sion took complete control after the restart. Five minutes into the second half, they netted the opening goal of the game. A long delivery from Ian O'Regan was claimed by Tommy Kennedy. The former All-Ireland minor winner picked out Austin Gleeson, who in turn found Martin O'Neill, and he finished clinically from a tight angle to give his side a 1-14 to 0-12 lead.
The game moved further beyond Dungarvan seven minutes later when Mount Sion struck for a second goal. Once again Kennedy was heavily involved, carrying possession out of his own half before finding Jamie Gleeson. With Stephen Roche in space, the ball was worked to him and he slipped a clever pass along the ground to Meaney. The forward gathered cleanly and, without taking the sliotar into his hand, fired past Rian Crotty to put Mount Sion 2-15 to 0-13 in front.
Mount Sion emptied their bench during the final quarter. While Meaney's injury will be a concern, the break in fixtures next weekend could prove timely if the setback is not as serious as first feared.
The city side had stretched their lead to 2-22 to 0-14 by the hour mark and, although Dungarvan responded with late points from Pierce Quann, Ryan McGovern and Luke Power, they proved little more than consolation scores.
Martin O'Neill 1-3 (0-2f), Austin Gleeson 0-4, Adam O'Regan 0-4, Jamie Meaney 1-1, Jamie Gleeson 0-2, Jack Kirwan 0-2, Tadhg Corcoran 0-1, PJ Fannin 0-1, Stephen Roche 0-1, Tommy Kennedy 0-1, Martin F. O'Neill 0-1, Bradley Penkert 0-1.
Ryan McGovern 0-8 (6f), Darragh Lyons 0-2, Johnny Burke 0-2, Donnacha Hayes Hamilton 0-1, Billy Hickey 0-1, Brian Curran 0-1, Pierce Quann 0-1, Luke Power 0-1.
Ian O'Regan; Aaron Coughlan, Stephen O'Neill, Tadhg Corcoran; Mikey Daykin, PJ Fannin, Gavin Power; Jamie Gleeson, Martin O'Neill; Adam O'Regan, Stephen Roche, Tommy Kennedy; Martin F. O'Neill, Jamie Meaney, Austin Gleeson.
Alan Kirwan for Tommy Kennedy (46), Bradley Penkert for Martin O'Neill (46), Jack Kirwan for Jamie Meaney (47), John Kennedy for Austin Gleeson (47), Jack Teat for Martin F. O'Neill (63).
Rian Crotty; Kealan Daly, Jack Lacey, Brendan Dillon; Eddie Burke, Donnacha Hayes Hamilton, Robbie Wall; Billy Hickey, Joe Duggan; Darragh Lyons, Mikey Kiely, Ryan McGovern; Brian Curran, Johnny Burke, Alex Shanahan.
Pierce Quann for Alex Shanahan (HT), Luke Power for Kealan Daly (HT), David Flynn for Joe Duggan (48).
Gavin Whelan (Colligan).
