Knocked down but not out - how Mount Sion rescued their season

Sat, 22 Aug, 2020 - 07:55

Michael Moynihan

Stipple: Waterford SHC

For an insight into tomorrow’s Waterford SHC semi-final between Mount Sion and Passage (Walsh Park, 2pm), who better than a man who managed against both sides this year?

Peter Queally’s Roanmore beat Mount Sion in the group stages but then fell to Passage in the quarter-final. The former Waterford midfielder isn’t surprised the city side made it to this stage: “Mount Sion would be one of the teams you’d be thinking would make the last four. They did well against De La Salle in last year’s championship - there was only a few points in that game and down here De La Salle would be seen as the closest to Ballygunner.

“So Mount Sion would have been seen as a good bet for the semi-finals, but after we beat them in the group stages a couple of weeks ago a lot of people would have written them off.”

The way Mount Sion regrouped after that loss impressed Queally.

“They showed a lot of quality, doing that. I heard John Meaney (Mount Sion manager) saying in an interview that they’d done a lot of soul-searching after the Roanmore game.

“And after a bad defeat sometimes that can happen, a team can look at everything forensically and find ways to improve. They found those ways, and they were bolstered, too, by players.

“PJ Fanning came back, Peter Penkert made himself available after about 11 months out. That was a boost for them, and of course the fact that Austin’s suspension was overturned and he was free to play, that was another boost.”

Austin is Austin Gleeson, the 2017 Hurler and Young Hurler of the Year. Having him on the field of play was a major factor in Mount Sion’s win over De La Salle last weekend, but Queally points out the danger inherent in focusing too much on the powerful Waterford star.

“You have to have some sort of plan but you can’t get caught up in focusing on one player. Mount Sion have a lot of very good young players - Alan Kirwan, Stephen Roche, who’s as good a club player as there is in Waterford.

“Martin O’Neill has come back for them as well. He was out for a couple of years and it probably took a few months to get up to the pace, but he was very good in the game against De La Salle.

“Having Austin’s suspension lifted, though, meant you could almost see the ambush falling into place. There was only a puck of a ball between the two teams last year, De La Salle were being spoken about down here as the team which could challenge Ballygunner . ..

“You can only focus on the hurdle in front of you. De La Salle stumbled, and Mount Sion caught them.”

There’s a slightly different narrative surrounding their opponents tomorrow. Having steered Passage to the county title in 2013 as manager, Queally is well placed to evaluate his former side.

“I’d say they’re a side in transition. They still have a bunch of the lads from 2013 who are driving it - the likes of Killian Fitzgerald and Owen Connors would have been in their early twenties that time, and they’re probably the main leaders.

“But having said that, they have some good young lads coming through alongside them. The likes of Callum O’Neill are blossoming in the last couple of years, and Passage are building the team around players like him for the future.

“Throw in the lads who are even younger, Mickey Cummins and Paddy Flynn, and the blend is very good.”

Beating Roanmore “will stand to Passage”, says Queally: “They won’t be afraid of Mount Sion. The bookies probably favour Mount Sion but it’s a 50-50 game.

“We spoke about the ambush De La Salle walked into, and there might be a similar situation here.

“Passage are improving with every game they’ve played. They beat Tallow by four points, they lost to Ballygunner but played very well, they’d be happy with their performance.

“They dig deep, they’re the kind of team that could dig out a result, certainly.”

Ballygunner still cast a long shadow in Waterford, as they look for a seventh county title in a row.

“There’s no point in beating around the bush,” says Queally.

“Every neutral hurling supporter in the county would like to see a new winner for the sake of change.

“But Ballygunner don’t do sentiment. They’re setting out their legacy and sentiment doesn’t come into it.

“They’ve been very businesslike, very efficient, this year, the same way they are every year. They play to a very high standard and while you might be jealous of them, you have to admire the standard they set.

“Every year you’d wonder if the same hunger will be there. There’s no Munster club championship this year, so people were wondering would that affect them. It hasn’t affected them one bit. They’re as focused as they ever were on building that dynasty.”