A DAY of disappointment on the double on the provincial championship front last Sunday with Ballygunner failing in their bid to become Munster club senior hurling champions, while Kilgobnet went down much more tamely in their junior football semi-final against Limerick opposition at Fraher Field.
A heroic second half fight back by the Gunners just fell short as Newtownshandrum edged them out in a tense Semple Stadium decider by 2-11 to 2-9. The early minutes of the game and the final quarter saw our champions at their resplendent best, but the mediocrity in between cost them dearly in the final analysis.
They were clearly in trouble at half time when they trailed by 1-7 to 0-4 after playing with the assistance of a very strong breeze. Things got even worse on the turnover with James Coughlan’s goal strike widening the gap between the sides to a whopping ten points leaving the Gunners facing a near mission impossible.
When you talk about the Gunners however then nothing, in reality, is impossible. The titanic fight back began with Stephen Power’s goal, and when Barry Mullane turned from provider to executioner to crash home their second it was well and truly “game on’’. A flurry of points had the sides level, 2-9 each, and now the thoughts of many of the fans were turning to extra time.
Alas, however, it was not to be. The Cork champions fashioned the final two priceless points and so for the second time in half a decade they had denied the Gunners provincial glory. Not an easy defeat to stomach given the magnificence of that second half rally, but on more sober reflection they will know that they played too far below par at other
Still another brave and battling performance by the Gunners whose future at the top of the hurling tree is assured with such a crop of talented youngsters coming through the ranks. They did club and county proud - yet again - last Sunday.
KILGOBNET LOSE
Dungarvan’s Fraher Field hosted the Munster junior football club semi-final and here too there was only disappointment as Kilgobnet crashed to a 0-8 to 0-3 defeat against a less than impressive Limerick outfit, Mountcollins.
The fact that midfielder Mark Radley was Kilgobnet’s only scorer says it all about an attacking formation that failed dismally on the day. The absence of their county final skipper Tomas O’Brien and also John Cass robbed them of two of their most influential players, yet that cannot totally explain what was, overall, a hugely disappointing Kilgobnet display.
