Ballygunner stroll to another county final appearance with win over De La Salle
Ballygunner's Paddy Leavey with his trademark hurley pass under pressure from De La Salle's Adam Farrell during their JJ Kavanagh & Sons Co. SHC semi-final at Azzurri Walsh Park. Photo: Noel Browne
Ballygunner booked their place in the JJ Kavanagh & Sons County Senior Hurling Championship final after producing a dominant second-half display to defeat city rivals De La Salle by 16 points at Azzurri Walsh Park on Saturday evening.
The reigning champions, chasing a remarkable 13th successive county title, once again underlined their status as the team to beat in Waterford. The victory extended their extraordinary unbeaten championship run within the county to 73 games since De La Salle defeated them at the same venue in 2015.
Ballygunner lined out without Dessie Hutchinson, Pauric Mahony and Patrick Fitzgerald in their starting XV, though Mahony made a significant impact after being introduced early in the second half. The veteran forward finished with seven points and strengthened his case for a starting place in the county final.
Those drafted into the side all impressed. Eoin Cuddihy assumed free-taking responsibilities, Jake Foley worked tirelessly in attack, while Conor Tobin delivered a man-of-the-match performance. Tobin finished with an outstanding 1-5 and was deservedly applauded from the field when substituted late on.
Cuddihy opened the scoring from a free before adding another from play. Adam Farrell replied for De La Salle, but scores from Kevin Mahony and Tobin helped Ballygunner settle into the contest.
Farrell added a second point and Conor Keane also found the target as De La Salle narrowed the margin to one, but that proved as close as they would come throughout the evening.
Cuddihy and defender Tadhg Foley pushed Ballygunner ahead again, while Mikey Costigan and Cormac Dawson responded for De La Salle. A point apiece from Jake Foley and Jack Twomey kept the game competitive before Ballygunner began to take control.
Successive scores from Tobin, Cormac Power, Cuddihy and Kevin Mahony opened a five-point gap. Despite playing with the aid of the breeze towards the city end, De La Salle struggled to build sustained momentum.
Late first-half points from Jack Fagan and Twomey reduced the deficit somewhat, but Ballygunner still held a comfortable 0-11 to 0-8 lead at the break and appeared firmly in control.
Any hopes of a De La Salle revival were effectively ended within seconds of the restart. Ballygunner won possession from the throw-in, worked the ball quickly through the middle, and Tobin accelerated clear of the defence before firing past Shaun O'Brien for the game's only goal.
The score pushed Ballygunner six points clear and immediately placed pressure on their opponents. Manager Jason Ryan then introduced Pauric Mahony, a move that further tilted the contest in Ballygunner's favour.
Mahony quickly made his presence felt with two points. De La Salle's best chance of a goal arrived when Reuben Halloran struck for goal from distance, but his effort drifted narrowly wide despite drawing a full-length dive from Stephen O'Keeffe.
Mahony added another score, while Dawson replied from a free. Ballygunner continued to create opportunities, with Tobin particularly influential. O'Keeffe launched a long delivery that was brilliantly gathered by Tobin, though his effort struck the crossbar.
The champions steadily increased their advantage. Kevin, Mikey and Pauric Mahony all added points before Twomey responded for De La Salle. Ballygunner then produced a devastating scoring burst as Tobin, Mahony, Power, Tobin again, Mark Hartley and Power all found the target.
That sequence of scores stretched the lead to 1-23 to 0-12 and removed any lingering doubt about the outcome.
Tobin and Mahony continued to torment the De La Salle defence during the closing stages, both adding further scores. Substitutes Ronan Power and Charlie O'Callaghan traded points, while Farrell and Mahony also raised white flags before the final whistle.
The closing margin of 16 points reflected Ballygunner's superiority, particularly after the interval. Their physicality, movement and scoring efficiency proved too much for a De La Salle side that battled gamely but struggled to match the champions once they hit top gear.
For Ballygunner, Tobin was outstanding, contributing 1-5 and causing problems throughout. Mahony's seven-point return from the bench highlighted the depth available to Jason Ryan, while Cuddihy impressed in a starting role with four points.
Having safely negotiated another championship hurdle, Ballygunner now move within one victory of securing a 13th consecutive county title. On this evidence, they will take some stopping.
Conor Tobin 1-5; Pauric Mahony 0-7 (4f); Eoin Cuddihy 0-4 (3f); Kevin Mahony, Cormac Power 0-3 each; Mikey Mahony, Mark Hartley, Tadhg Foley, Jake Foley, Ronan Power 0-1 each.
Jack Twomey 0-4 (1 '65); Adam Farrell 0-3; Cormac Dawson 0-2; Mikey Costigan, Jack Fagan, Conor Keane, Shane Power, Charlie O'Callaghan 0-1 each.
Stephen O’Keeffe; Aaron O’Neill, Ian Kenny, Tadhg Foley; Cormac Power, Philip Mahony, Ronan Power; Conor Sheehan, Paddy Leavy; Conor Tobin, Eoin Cuddihy, Peter Hogan; Jake Foley, Kevin Mahony, Mikey Mahony.
Pauric Mahony for J Foley (32), Mark Hartley for Eoin Cuddihy (46), Harry Ruddle for Cormac Power (51), Gavin Corbett for Conor Tobin (54), Eoin O’Brien for Peter Hogan (58)
Shaun O’Brien; Darragh Keane, Daniel Lalor, Lorcan Dwyer; Mikey Costigan, Jake Dillon, Conor Power; Shane McNulty, Tom Moran; Adam Farrell, Jake Fagan, Reuban Halloran; Conor Keane, Cormac Dawson, Jack Twomey.
Shane Power for Lorcan Dwyer (33), Colm Morris for Conor Power (47), Sam Flynn for Tom Moran (55), Charlie O’Callaghan for Conor Keane (58), Jack Jacob for Reuban Halloran (59)
Thomas Walsh (Modeligo).
