Ward free earns reprieve for Tones

Cian Ward once more emerged as the hero for Wolfe Tones when he split the posts for an extra-time free to send this SFC semi-final against champions Navan O'Mahonys to a replay on Sunday evening at Pairc Tailteann. Ward had to concentrate on his free while his colleague, Stephen Corrigan, made his way to the sideline after he received a straight red card from referee Cormac Reilly who consulted with his umpires on the matter. The county player, who has had better outings for the Tones kept his nerve and from a tight angle under the stand, directed the ball between the posts to earn another chance against injury-ravaged O'Mahonys who will have plenty of candidates for the treatment table this week. "We have some serious injuries after that game,Barry Regan and Niall McKeigue are very doubtful for the replay, at this stage, but on the positive side we showed great battling qualities because at times it looked like the game was gone from us," stated O'Mahonys manager Sean Kelly. "The reality is that Wolfe Tones are a very good team and we knew we were going to face a massive challenge, hopefully we can put 15 fit bodies out on the pitch next weekend," he added. Navan O'Mahonys were boosted by the return of Regan, but he hobbled off at the start of extra-time. He lasted longer than Niall McKeigue who also limped out of the fray six minutes into the second-half. The loss of those two players will have a major impact, but Wolfe Tones manager Cathal O Bric will have to plan without one of his midfielders. "I don't know what Stephen Corrigan was sent-off for, but it was a straight red card so he's out for the replay, it will be a huge loss for us," commented the Tones manager. "It was an amazing game, both teams enjoyed periods of dominance, but we had some terrible wides in the second-half, that really cost us the game. "I still admire O'Mahonys, they showed their worth today when it was going against them they got the scores and they nearly won it, we're happy to have another chance," he added. With Regan and Mark Ward at midfield, O'Mahonys made a great start and were ahead inside 20 seconds when David Bray pointed from play. Against the wind, Wolfe Tones had to work extremely hard and their policy of getting up to 13 men behind the ball had an unsettling impact on the reigning champions who struggled for any degree of fluency during the opening quarter. That all translated into points on the scoreboard for Wolfe Tones who were ahead by 0-4 to 0-1 at the end of the opening quarter with points from Darren McGrath, Alan Fox and Paul Byrne from play and a Cian Ward pointed free. They were so dominant that they also managed four wides in the same period. After Stephen Sheppard dispossessed Mark Ward in front of the dug-outs and set up Niall McLoughlin for an easy Tones score O'Mahonys found some improvement and reeled off unanswered points from Henry Finnegan, Shane McKeigue and Ross Geraghty which reduced the deficit to the minimum (0-4 to 0-5). That's the way it was at the interval also as the teams traded a further brace of points each with Cormac McGuinness and Finnegan splitting the posts for O'Mahonys while Byrne and Cian Ward, with another well-taken free, helped the challengers to a 0-7 to 0-6 interval advantage. The smart money would have piled on to Wolfe Tones at that stage due to the strong wind that would back them after the resumption. O'Mahonys rubbished that idea and were ahead midway through the third-quarter from Lee Russell and Ross Geraghty. Contrast that to what Wolfe Tones had to offer from an equal amount of possession and it made stark reading. They wasted a couple of good point chances and Cian Ward even blasted a reasonable goal chance harmlessly across the face of Marcus Brennan's square before he fired a 40-metre free wide, a feat emulated from play by Mark Coleman a minute later, which all contributed to a 0-8 to 0-7 third-quarter advantage for O'Mahonys. Cian Ward made amends from a free out of his hands to tie the scores with 13 minutes remaining and then Sheppard gave Wolfe Tones the lead. Cian Ward pointed a free from in front of the posts, it was brought forward for dissent, and O'Mahonys looked to be on the way out. O'Mahonys actually conceded a lot of good ground for dissent and that is something that a change in attitude will rectify. The champions dug deep and got back to parity through McGuiinness and Finnegan (free) which only encouraged Cian Ward to send over another point out of the top drawer. Eoghan Harrington won possession at midfield after Mark Ward broke the ball for O'Mahonys, Cian Ward did the rest from an impossible looking position out near the terrace. There was still sufficient time for Paddy Smyth to emerge from the shadows and force extra-time at 0-11 each. O'Mahonys dictated the first period of extra-time as Geraghty and Smyth pointed. Then Smyth hit the post from a goal chance and Cian Ward sent over at the other end to leave the Tones adrift by 0-12 to 0-13. More O'Mahonys dissent gifted Cian Ward an equaliser from a 13-metre free before Mark Ward started the move from which Geraghty gave the champions the lead again. It counted for nothing and that late Cian Ward free means they will do it all over again this Sunday. Navan O'Mahonys - M Brennan; D Moran, N McKeigue, S O'Toole; G O'Brien, S Crosby, C McGuinness (0-2); B Regan, M Ward; L Russell (0-1), R Geraghty (0-4), H Finnegan (0-3, two frees); D Bray (0-1), S McKeigue (0-1), P Smyth (0-2). Subs - C Reilly for N McKeigue 36 mins; D Maguire for Moran 45m; J Regan for Russell 50m; extra-time - G O'Dowd for B Regan 2m. Wolfe Tones - D Nolan; R Brady, C McLoughlin, C Martin; B McGinn, E Harrington, S Sheppard (0-1); S Corrigan, A Callaghan; D McGrath (0-1), N McLoughlin (0-1), M Coleman; A Fox (0-1), C Ward (0-8, seven frees), P Byrne (0-2). Subs - A Callaghan for Byrne 47 mins; J Tiernan for McGrath 56m; extra-time - D Browne for Beggy full-time; R McDonnell for Coleman 10m. Referee - Cormac Reilly (St Mary's).