4th September 2011

Mount Sion Gaa Club Notes

Senior Hurling Championship

Our Senior hurlers faced last year’s county finalists Ballygunner in the championship last Saturday evening in Walsh Park. With both teams already through to the Quarter-Finals this game decided who topped group 2. It was Ballygunner who opened their accounts first with Mount Sion replying through Ken McGrath with a point. A piece of magic it must be said could only describe the next score. A ball played in around the Ballygunner goal was hand-passed from Anthony Kirwan to Sean Ryan, but without catching the ball and running at pace towards the ball, Ryan volleys the ball to beat the Ballygunner keeper to give Sion their first goal of the day. Stephen Roche pointed and Ballygunner hit back with a point. Ken McGrath was back in fine form hitting Sion’s next 3 points and was also the creator of Sion’s next goal. A perfect pass to Ian Galgey ended in another goal for the Monastery outfit. Sion hit their stride scoring 7 unanswered scores but Ballygunner broke that with 10 minutes left in the half adding 4 points to their total which gave Sion a nine point lead at half time.

After the break, Sion were first back into the action with Ken McGrath on target from the placed ball. A Ballygunner comeback was signalled when they hit the net nine minutes into the game. They added a point but Martin F. O’Neill pointed for Sion. The Gunners got the next three scores with one of them been another goal, which brought the gap back to two points. A beautiful strike from the placed ball from Martin O’Neill brought the difference back to three points. The men in black and red brought it back to a one point game with a minute of ordinary time left and five minutes of extra time to be played. A falling strike from substitute Brian Cusack gave Sion another point. With time just up, Sion were awarded a side-line. Side-line specialist John Dee pointed to give Sion a much deserved win. Final score Mount Sion 2-15 to Ballygunner 2-12. Well done lads, great performance.

Junior Football Championship

It was Semi-Final day in the Junior Football Championship last Sunday where the opponents were Butlerstown who already beat us in the group stages. De La Salle – Cleaboy provided the venue for the game and with a number of injuries picked up over the week, Sion were without the services of big man Ross O’Keeffe, Kenny Stafford, Chris Ryan and newlywed Michael Frisby. Butlerstown opened the scoring with a point from a 45. Both Ian’s Galgey and O’Regan pointed for Sion. A Noel Flynn effort came right back off the crossbar and Butlerstown cleared the ball up the field to get their only goal of the game. Martin O’Neill pulled a point back to leave Sion trail by a point at half time.

Butlerstown were first to score in the second half with two quick points. Sion had to wait thirteen minutes to get their first score of the half through Ian Galgey. Galgey gave a second half performance worthy of any team from both play and the placed ball to score six points, all in a row. With two minutes remaining Ian “Bomb” Power was sprang from the sideline and kept his very good goal record intact when he finished to the net. Martin F. O’Neill finished the scoring out with a well taken point. Final score Mount Sion 1-10 to Butlerstown 1-3. Well done lads, best of luck in the Eastern Final.

Minor Championship

The second last round of the championship took place last Wednesday evening where we faced Roanmore in our own pitch. It was in fact a very good performance and one they should be proud of. Roanmore hit the opening point but Sion quickly settled into the game through Austin Gleeson with two points and a goal within the first four minutes of the game. Lee Halligan pointed with Roanmore punishing Sion with two successful frees. Two very quick goals in succession from Gleeson and Brian Hammond separated the sides at half time.

Roanmore cut the lead to four points just after the break but Halligan, Gleeson and Aaron Dempsey pointed Sion further into the lead. A well taken Halligan goal twenty minutes in put Sion well in the driving seat with Gleeson, Stephen O’Neill and substitute Ricky Freeman all getting their name on the score-sheet. Sion finished the half with three further points with Roanmore pulled one goal back right at the death. Final score Mount Sion 4-15 to Roanmore 1-13. Well done lads, great performance! The final game of the championship is against Dungarvan in Mount Sion on Wednesday 7^th September at 7pm. Best of luck.

Under 8s

The Under 8s travelled to Gorey to take part in their annual tournament two Saturdays ago. The lads played Ferns in the first game and beat them by 3-3 to 0-0. In the second game we played another Wexford side, Oylegate-Glenbrien who we also beat by 1-1 to 0-1. The third game we played Carlow town and beat them 5-3 to 0-0. In the final group game we took on the home side Naomh Eanna, which they bet us on a score of 3-3 to 0-0. In the semi-final of the shield competition we faced Cranford. It was a very tight game where Cranford scored the only score of the game, a goal. Well done to all the lads. Ye put in a great display. Thanks to Gorey for the invitation and thanks to all the coaches and parents who travelled to help out on the day.

Under 5, 6 and 7s

Last Saturday the 5,6 and 7 year olds were invited to Ballygunner to play a series of games. Many thanks to Ballygunner for the invitation. Everyone had a great day with plenty of small sided games against the other invited teams. The 5/6s played Ballygunner, Passage and Roanmore in the Hurling Arena, while the under 7s played Ballygunner, De la Salle and Roanmore out on the pitch. The 5/6 year old squad included Jared O Keeffe, Conor Walsh, Sam O Byrne Russell, Alex Walsh, Lee Flanagan, Marc O Connor, Tommy Walsh, Davin Marshall, Oliver Kopczynski, Sean Flynn, Ross Byrne, Cormac Dunphy, Dylan Ryan, Daniel Butler and Tom Coughlan. These boys are making great progress with the Hurling skills and played really well all through the games. Keep up the good work. Training for the 5/6s continues each Wednesday at 6.30pm and Saturdays at 12 noon.

The John Keane Tournament

The annual John Keane Tournament will take place on Wednesday 14th and Saturday 17th September. This in house tournament is played each year by the 7,8 and 9 year olds in Memory and Honour of the late great Mount Sion, Waterford and Munster player for the John Keane Cup kindly donated by the Keane family some years ago. Year after year the standard of play by the young players is a joy to see and I’m sure that this year won’t be an exception. So plenty of practice is needed between now and the 14th.

Mum & Me

One of the last sessions of Mum & Me took place last Wednesday evening. Yet again we had a big number of girls and parents present. The girls will continue to train on Saturday mornings at 12noon to 1pm and on Saturday 17^th of October there will be a presentation of hurleys, sliothars and t-shirts for taking part in the Mum & Me initiative along with a little party. If you know of any girls who would like to take up camogie as a new activity why not bring them along next Saturday. All activities are free of charge and hurleys and helmets can be supplied for those who don’t have them.

Camogie All Ireland

Best of luck to the Waterford Camogie team in the All Ireland Final, where they face Down in Croke Park next Sunday. We would like to especially wish our own Jessica Gleeson the very best of luck and we hope ye bring us home the cup! Good luck girls.

The Interview Room

This is a new feature to our club website. Each week it will feature a club member, with different questions put to them. The first week we have Senior Hurler Ian Power. To find out more log onto the website and look for the interview room under the news tab. www.mountsiongaa.ie . If you would like to take part, have a chat with Savo. Also this week we have added a video to The Anthem Page. Its Paddy (Pa Pa) Greene singing the Mount Sion Song! Well worth a look!

Deise Draw

We had no winners in this month’s Deise Draw. But if anyone is looking for tickets you can contact Josie Evans for tickets. Tickets are €10 per draw, with a chance to bag €10,000 plus many other cash prizes. 70% of the money raised goes back into the club, so not only have you a chance to win but your supporting Mount Sion.

Darts & Cards

Darts and Cards for club members. Come along and join in the fun. Darts takes place every Thursday night with Cards on Friday nights, both starting around 10pm. Great prizes on offer!! All Club Members are welcome.

Training Times

Here are the training times for next Saturday. New players are always welcome and hurleys and helmets can be supplied to those who don’t have any. Also please note training is free of charge and parents are more than welcome to come along and watch.

9 & 10 year olds (born in 2001 & 2002). – 10.30am to 12 noon. Coached by Damien Frisby, Roy McGrath Seamus Nolan, Shane O Grady and George O Grady.

5 & 6 year old (born in 2005 & 2006) – 12 noon to 1pm. Coached by Peter Walsh, Lindsay Grace, James Dunphy and Martin Walsh.

7 & 8 year olds (born in 2003 & 2004) – 1pm-2pm. Coached by Nicky Mackey, John O Keeffe, Michael Frisby and Eric Curran.

If you have any queries just telephone Peter Walsh on 087-1355359.

Fixtures

Minor Championship v Dungarvan in Mount Sion at 6:30pm on Wednesday 7^th September.

Eastern Junior Hurling Final v De La Salle on Saturday 10^th Sept in Ballygunner at 2pm.

Under 16 Football v Ferrybank in Ferrybank on Sunday 11^th September at 11:30am in Ferrybank.

More fixtures are available on our calendar on the website via the news tab.

Notes for Paper & Website

If you have any Cnoc Sion notes or announcements for the paper or website please contact Owen Sauvage by email owen@mountsiongaa.ie or text your notes to 087-9706387 before 8pm Sunday night. You can also submit your notes through the website on the news tab. The website features a calendar so you can keep up to date with all the latest fixtures and events.