Wild finish as Furlong snatches victory from the jaws of defeat for Sky Blues
Players from both sides appeal for a free during during their SHC quarter final.
A crazy and chaotic finish to the last quarter final on Sunday as Rory Furlong scrambled home an 84th minute goal to send Roanmore through to the semi-finals at Fourmilewater's expense.
Tempers flared on the field and in the stands as referee Anthony Fitzgerald blew the final whistle. Two players wrestled on the ground while a water bottle was thrown towards the Fourmile subs.
Two added minutes were signalled, but four were played. With Fourmile a point up, Billy Nolan won a Roanmore free on his own 65. Gavin O'Brien's attempt dropped around the danger zone and Furlong applied the finish in a jam-packed goalmouth. The ground erupted. Delirium for Roanmore, devastation for Fourmile.
Roanmore led by four points with three minutes of normal time remaining, but failed to shut the door. Eleven second-half wides, including six from Gavin O’Brien, kept their opponents in the ball game. Oisin Walsh landed two frees for Fourmile, Shane Ryan blasted over a goal chance while Tholom Guiry got his second long-distance point. Shane Mackey then soloed from the sideline towards the City goal and won a free which O’Brien converted. Frees were hard earned with Fitzgerald ignoring obvious fouls before Ciaran Walsh levelled the match for the eleventh time in the fifth of five added minutes. Sean Walsh then had a late, late chance to win it when Dylan Guiry slipped him through one on one. He went for a goal instead of a point and Jack Chester smothered the shot superbly. A gripping end to a second half spoiled by misses and mistakes.
Five minutes into the first period of extra time, Fourmile subs Conor Gleeson and Dylan Guiry fed Jamie Barron and he finished from close range. Sean Walsh gave the Ballymacarbry men a three point buffer but five extra time wides and one off the post came back to bite them. Gavin O’Brien misfired in the second half but regained his composure for extra time. Thirteen points from the ace marksman (twelve frees) kept the Sky Blues alive until that late, late Furlong major.
The sides were level five times inside the opening ten minutes. Sean Walsh then stole a Roanmore short puckout to slot his first point of the afternoon. Cian Wadding was on man marking duties. Michael Morrissey then made it 7-5 with his second from play. Jamie Barron struck two points, both set up by Pat Walsh, and two wides.
Gavin O'Brien tied it up for the sixth time with his fourth and fifth frees. Brian Everard won two of them. Tadhg Walsh stuck to his task however and won a ball off Everard with no hurley!
Tholom Guiry restored Fourmile's lead with a massive point. Evan Spelman added a free but Oran Hartney and O'Brien pegged them back. Barron supplied Spelman for the lead point. After a right scrap for possession in front of the stand, Aaron Ryan scored from 60 metres and the Fourmile subs roared their approval. Another O'Brien free and a super Shane Mackey effort levelled it for the eighth time! Walsh started to make the ball stick and his second point snuck Fourmile 12-11 up at half time.
O'Brien missed a free when play resumed, but quickly made amends. Ethan Flynn then let rip, and a low rocket flew under Stephen Ryan (1-12 to 0-12). Spelman reacted with a free. Both teams squandered chances before Flynn lashed over a point off his left near the sideline. O'Brien thought he scored, but the ball was waved wide. The former county man missed three frees and three from play during that scrappy second half.
Fourmile's short game broke down under the relentless Roanmore pressure as Jake Mulcahy and Spelman got penalised for steps. Sean Walsh soloed along the endline but got crowded out and could only bat the sliotar into the side net. Fourteen minutes went by without a score! Billy Nolan then belted over a free from his own 45. 1-14 to 0-13 with 57 minutes on the clock.
Dylan Guiry and Conor Gleeson came down from the stand to join Sean Walsh up top. Despite going 21 minutes without a score, Fourmile nearly went and won it.
Gavin O’Brien 0-13 (12fs), Ethan Flynn 1-1, Rory Furlong 1-0, Paul O'Sullivan 0-2, Dean Reidy, Billy Nolan (f), Shane Mackey, Oran Hartney 0-1 each.
Jamie Barron 1-2, Evan Spelman 0-4 (3fs), Sean Walsh, Tholom Guiry 0-3 each, Ciaran Walsh, Oisin Walsh (2fs), Aaron Ryan, Michael Morrissey 0-2 each, Shane Ryan 0-1.
Jack Chester; Oran Hartney, Cian Wadding, Frank McGrath; Brian Nolan, Billy Nolan, Charlie Chester; Rory Furlong, Sean Burke; Shane Mackey, Gavin O’Brien, Ethan Flynn; Conor Ryan, Paul O’Sullivan, Brian Everard.
Dean Walsh for Hartney (41), Ethan Hayes for Burke (49), Dale Hayes for Brian Nolan (52), Dean Reidy for O'Sullivan (55), Ian Chester for Charlie Chester (ET), Chris Dempsey for McGrath (70), Callum Carroll for Flynn (74), Paul O'Sullivan for Mackey (80).
Stephen Ryan; Paddy Spelman, Tadhg Walsh, James McGrath; Tholom Guiry, Oisin Walsh, Jake Mulcahy; Tom Barron, Pat Walsh; Evan Spelman, Jamie Barron, Aaron Ryan; Ciaran Walsh, Sean Walsh, Michael Morrissey.
Shane Ryan for Pat Walsh (44), Dylan Guiry for Aaron Ryan (52), Conor Gleeson for Morrissey (56), Aaron Ryan for Ciaran Walsh (65), Pat Walsh for Tholom Guiry (81), Michael Morrissey for Evan Spelman (81).
Anthony Fitzgerald (Gaultier)
Fourmile wing back Tholom Guiry walloped over three terrific long-range points.
Rory Furlong’s late, late winner!
The blatant fouls that weren’t given as frees.
Roanmore contest their fourth semi-final in five years against fierce rivals Mount Sion.
