The Baltinglass man got down superbly to his right side and palmed the shot away to ensure Wicklow the game by three points.
And although Carlow came hunting for a late major, the attempted long ball into the Wicklow square tailed harmlessly wide and sent Carlow crashing out of the secondary competition.
This was a classic cat-and-mouse affair in beautiful conditions with Niall Carew’s Carlow leading Oisín McConville’s men by 0-6 to 0-5 at the break. Kevin Quinn scored three of six points for Wicklow by that stage, on his way to a man-of-the-match performance over the 70 minutes.
Three points on the bounce after the restart seemed to put Wicklow into the driving seat but Eric Molloy’s beautifully struck goal brought Carlow back into the contest six minutes into the second half.
However, an incident in the Carlow square two minutes later involving Carlow’s Jamie Clarke and Paddy O’Keane from Wicklow resulted in the Bagenalstown Gaels man receiving a straight red card.
And although the extra man didn’t seem to be a factor for the remainder of the game, Wicklow came by their scores more easily.
The dynamic running of Podge O’Toole and Dean Healy providing chances for Quinn, O’Toole himself and substitute Chris O’Brien who fired over two screamers to leave the Garden County leading by three deep into the four minutes of added time.
Away came Carlow hunting for the levelling score that would send them through, but Jackson stepped up and pushed a rocket away from the target, sending the Wicklow men through to the last eight.
Scorers – Wicklow: K Quinn 0-6 (4f); P O’Toole 0-3; C O’Brien 0-2; M Kenny, M Jackson, P O’Keane, D Healy 0-1 each. Carlow: E Molloy 1-0, D Foley 0-3 (2f); C Doyle 0-2 (45); C Crowley, R Dunphy, A Amond, C Lomax 0-1 each
Wicklow: M Jackson; T Moran, M Stone, M Nolan; D Fee, E. Murtagh, P O’Keane; C Maguire, D Healy; P O’Toole, M Kenny, J Kirwan; E D’Arcy, K Quinn, JP Nolan. Subs: C McDonald for P O’Keane (temp, 43, reversed 47). G Fogarty for M Kenny (53), C O’Brien for JP Nolan (55), O McGraynor for E D’Arcy (59), C McDonald for D Fee (62), J Carlin for C Maguire (65)
Carlow: J. Furey; C. Byrne, M. Furey, E. Molloy; M. Bambrick, J Clarke, C. Hulton; C Doyle, R Dunphy; A Amond, P McDonnell, C Crowley; L Gavin, D Foley, C Lomax. Subs: N Hickey for L Gavin (47), C Moran for C Hulton (57), J Phiri for C Lomax (62), J Murphy for M Furey (62), S Buggy for E Molloy 968)
Referee: Séamus Mulhare (Laois)
