Ballina recover from red card in first minute to reach Munster junior final

BALLINA 0-16 MOUNT SION 2-5

Not the way they would have planned it, but Ballina got there.

Austin Glesson has had his fair share of success as a hurler, but he had his heart set on helping Mount Sion reach the Munster Club Junior Football Championship Final today. Up against the Waterford hurling star were another couple of inter-county players that were lining out in opposition colours for the football cause - Willie Connors and Michael Breen. Ballina were favourites for the semi-final but all that was close to going out the window as early as the first minute. Tipperary footballer Steven O'Brien levelled his man with a shoulder charge that the referee deemed excessive. O'Brien [pictured below] was sent off and Ballina were already up against it. [caption id="attachment_244564" align="aligncenter" width="640"] Steven O'Brien of Tipperary pictured during and Allianz Football League match against Wicklow, earlier this year. (Photo by Ray McManus/Sportsfile)[/caption]

Ballina start strongly, despite being a man down

With O'Brien back on the sidelines, in Borrisoleigh, it was left to his teammates to take on some extra running and responsibilities. Ballina went 0-3 to 0-1 clear after 15 minutes and the referee, by that stage, had already added in the names of Gleeson and Connors. Both men picked up cautions in what was a fractious opening. The Tipp side continued to slot over the points and it was only a 25th minute goal from Mt. Sion's Evan Curran that kept them in touching distance. https://twitter.com/ClubberGaa/status/1472284136736006146 A well-taken Breen score had Ballina well clear, in the second half, but Ian O'Regan blasted home Sion's second goal and it was game-on as we headed into the closing stages. That was as good as it got for the Waterford men, though. Ballina added five more points to Sion's two and it ended up being quite comfortable in the end. Mount Sion had more players cautioned, late in the game, as tempers once again flared. It was a mix of the dogged and delightful, all afternoon, as the Tipp side marched on to the final.

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