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Dessie Hutchinson: first-half goal helped Ballygunner back into another county final. Tom Maher/INPHO

Mount Sion await as Ballygunner close in on Waterford nine-in-a-row

Ballygunner and Mount Sion come out on top in Sunday’s semi-final double-header at Walsh Park.

Ballygunner 2-17 Roanmore 0-12

Mount Sion 1-19 De La Salle 2-12

BALLYGUNNER’S NINE-IN-A-ROW bid will be decided in a mouthwatering Waterford senior hurling final against the last club to achieve the feat, Mount Sion.

The reigning Munster and All-Ireland champions booked their return to the county final with a convincing 11-point win over Roanmore in a repeat of last year’s decider.

And they will now face Mount Sion, who were four-point winners over De La Salle in Sunday’s second semi-final.

Ballygunner trailed Roanmore early on in Walsh Park and needed a 16th-minute goal from Dessie Hutchinson to draw level, 1-3 to 0-6.

The champions had edged into a slight lead by the break, 1-5 to 0-7, and they had already started to widen that gap when Patrick Fitzgerald struck on 45 minutes to put eight between the sides, 2-8 to 0-11.

Roanmore would only manage one more point from then on as their challenge faltered, leaving Ballygunner to extend their remarkable unbeaten championship run.

austin-gleeson-signs-autographs-for-fans-after-the-game Waterford star Austin Gleeson signs autographs after Mount Sion's win. Tom Maher / INPHO Tom Maher / INPHO / INPHO

Mount Sion’s record 35 county titles include nine straight from 1953-1961, but it’s now 16 years since their last victory back in 2006.

They led De La Salle by three points, 0-9 to 0-6, at the break and struck the first significant blow shortly after the restart when Martin O’Neill stretched their advantage to six, 1-9 to 0-6.

Eddie Meaney’s goal brought De La Salle right back into the fight, and when Reuben Halloran grabbed another two minutes from time, it set up a grandstand finish with just two points between the teams, 1-17 to 2-12.

But it was Mount Sion who found the decisive scores when it mattered most, adding the final two points to seal their return to a first county final since 2014.

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