The 2013 County senior hurling final will live long in the memory. It was a final for the ages. Ballygunner looked to have set sail for victory before Passage reeled them in with a quite amazing comeback. Alas the 2014 sequel will be forgotten much more quickly.
With old rivals Ballygunner and Mount Sion in opposite corners we hoped for fireworks but they never arrived. Instead the crowd of just over 3,000 were left disappointed by the fare, well the neutrals and Mount Sion fans anyway. Ballygunner won’t care one bit about that, nor should they. They set out at the start of the year to atone for the hurt of last year’s ‘heartbreaking defeat’ and with a comfortable final triumph over their great rivals they have gone a long way towards healing the wounds left by last year’s final.
It capped a great year for the men in red and black as they finished off the year as the only unbeaten team in this year’s championship, which is no mean achievement. Last Sunday was also a great day for Ballygunner legend, Fergal Hartley, as he guided the red and blacks to county senior glory in his first year in charge of his home club.
Much has been made, at inter-county level in particular, about what is the best recipe for senior success. Well out inBallygunner it’s simple. Build from the bottom up. In the past two decades or so Ballygunner’s success at juvenile, minor and U-21 level has been quite phenomenal and it is no surprise then that they have contested so many senior finals during that period.
I’m sure they would prefer their winning ratio in those finals to be a bit higher but maybe this latest victory will see them improve on those stats in the coming years. When you look at the age profile of the starting team on Sunday then it’s hard to bet against them adding many more titles to their stash in the coming years. Alan Kirwan is the only player over 30 and just five of the starting team are over 24, that looks kind of ominous for the rest of the chasing pack.
1. MORE POTENT BALLYGUNNER
You don’t have to be a rocket scientist or a statistical genius to figure out why Ballygunner won this game. Out of a score of 2-16, they managed 2-8 from play and in total they had five different scorers. Mount Sion on the other hand managed just 0-2 from play over the 60 minutes and had just three different scorers. You can butter it up all you like but you are never ever going to win a county final (at any grade) by scoring just 0-9 and just two points from play. Coming into the game I felt that Ballygunner’s more dangerous forward line gave them a distinct advantage and so it proved and not surprisingly it was their county men, Brian O’Sullivan who scored 2-2 from play and Paudie Mahony with 0-10 (two from play) that led the way with good help from JJ Hutchinson, Barry O’Sullivan and Harley Barnes.
2. SION’S DISMAL SECOND-HALF
When Mount Sion found themselves seven points down after Brian O’Sullivan’s second goal in the 14th minute, the writing looked to be on the wall for the Monastery men. But a strong second quarter performance meant that they went in at the break just four down and at that point many observers thought that they would build on that for the second half and come out on top. Especially as they turned to play with the aid of the breeze for the second 30 minutes. It never happened. Amazingly they managed just two points in the entirety of the second period and no score from play. They needed a goal and despite a few good chances, the best of which fell to Ian Galgey, it never arrived and although the Gunners never hit top gear in the second-half either, they were always doing enough to steer their way to a first title since 2011.
3. PAURIC MAHONY
Brian O’Sullivan might have gotten the nod as the Man of the Match in this game but one can’t under sell the influence of their number ten, Pauric Mahony. At this level a good freetaker is absolutely vital and although he missed a couple on Sunday that he might normally slot over, he still managed seven frees, one ’65 and two vital points from play. He really is Ballygunner’s go to man and he proved it again on Sunday with a composed and influential performance.
4. 2013 FINAL
There is no doubt that the days and weeks after last year’s County final must have been very dark times for the Ballygunner players. The manner in which they lost the county final, when it seemed as though they had it won, must have been extremely hard to take and to come to terms with. Therefore I have no doubt that they channelled their hurt into their championship run this year with their sole goal being to get back to the county final and give themselves the chance to atone for last year’s heartbreaking defeat. Once they had achieved that goal then the next one must have been to ensure that the same thing didn’t happen again and that this time they got the job done and got their hands on the News & Star Cup. And that’s what they did. They say that nothing focuses the mind in sport like defeat and I think Ballygunner showed that this season as they went through the year unbeaten on their way to the County title in great style.
Now the Gunners embark on their next mission which will be an assault on the Munster Club Championship. That begins in two weeks time when they will face newly crowned Clare champions, Cratloe, most likely in Walsh Park (but definitely at a Waterford venue). The winners will book a place in the semi-finals against the Tipperary champions, where they will have home advantage. Whether Ballygunner are good enough to win a Munster title remains to be seen but I have no doubt that Fergal Hartley will have the ready and raring to go and they will give a good account of themselves.
