THE fans fortunate enough to have made Walsh Park their choice of venue last Sunday will be relishing the opportunity of seeing more of the same next Saturday when Lismore and Ballygunner lock horns in a county senior hurling final replay that will be much more than eagerly awaited and anticipated.
Last Sunday’s thriller had a fair bit of everything - -great individual performances, many quality scores, and above all the kind of cliffhanger finish that just cannot be good for the heart. In the end the draw as unquestionably the most equitable result, although I sense that out Lismore way they are probably viewing it as “the one that got away’’.
Tenpointsclearaftertwentysix minutes and hurling with an almost brash confidence, it was difficultatthatstagenottoseeLis-more coming out on top. Still eightclearearlyinthesecondhalf thegauntlethadbeenfirmly,even defiantly, thrown down to the Gunners, and it is to their eternal creditthattheymetthechallenge inthe“headon’’waythatheydid.
If the opening half was good - -and it was - -the second was even better with Ballygunner hauling themselves back literally from the precipice to whittle away the Lismore lead and gain that meritorious draw with mere seconds left on the clock.
Nail biting stuff for sure, and I suspect that only Paul Flynn could have held his nerve as he did standing over that acutely angled free in the final seconds. Score it and we have a replay; miss it and it was good night Irene for the men in red and black.
But cometh the moment cometh the man, and Flynner unerringly split the posts with his effort to ensure that all of us will be returning to the venue in four days time.
Hard brief on Lismore that they twice surrendered seem-ingly match winning leads, but nothing can, or must, take from the Gunners near fanatical determination and their sheer dogged refusal to accept what at times looked to be the inevitability of defeat.
On a day when Flynn and the great Fergal Hartley - -surprisingly named at number six in a reshuffled defence - -the Gunners had two of their most heroic players. Another highlight too for me was the blockbuster of a goal scored by Shane O’Sullivan that brought the sides level in the 46th minute and set up the grandstand closing quarter that we were all treated to.
Heroes aplenty too on the Lis-more side with Maurice Shanahan turning in yet another man of the match performance and big brother Dan a constant threat as well as chipping in with three super points. Elsewhere too they had other five star performers, and a special word for the youngest player on view - -sixteen year old corner forward Padraig Prendergast. He chipped in with an invaluable goal and a point and he really is an exciting future prospect. A great game then contributed to in equal measure by two fine sides who played this one as sportingly as any two teams ever could. As I said in the heading above to all of this - - roll on the replay!!
