“We’re just so happy to have Pauric back in the team”
Ballygunner's Dessie Hutchinson beats De La Salle goalkeeper Shaun O'Brien for a crucial goal in their county senior hurling championship semi-final clash at Walsh Park. Photo: Noel Browne
Ballygunner two-goal hero Dessie Hutchinson was a relieved man as his side showed the character to overcome the challenge of De La Salle to keep their bid of landing another JJ Kavanagh & Sons Co. Senior hurling championship final alive.
It looked as if the champions were in trouble against their city opposition as they trailed by two points with three minutes remaining on the clock, but Pauric Mahony, who came off the bench in the second-half, sprung Hutchinson for two match winning goals.
It was the sheer character and will to win over the course of the hour that saw Jason Ryan’s side back to another county final where they’ll face old rivals Mount Sion in the showpiece decider on Sunday next.
Speaking after the game, the Ballygunner goalscorer said: “We were backs to the wall for much of the second-half to be honest and definitely the two goals were big for me. In fairness to De La Salle, they put in a monster of a performance and we knew that was going to come as well.
“Obviously the sending off plays a huge part in it. I’m so proud of the lads for digging in as deep as we did because it was massive. For the first goal, it was just a case of hitting the target.
“I saw Shaun O’Brien running out on me, and I probably didn’t expect him to run out that quick. You know that it probably made my decision a bit easier and just hit the target so I’m delighted that it went in.
“The second one wasn’t the best of finishes so thank God it went in. I’m just so happy just to get over the line and prepare for another county final. We know that today’s performance won’t be good enough against Mount Sion.”
Hutchinson added: “We just dig in. Look our workrate wasn’t probably where it needs to be. There was a lot of long puckouts down on top of our backs in the first-half, which probably didn’t get the energy throughout the field.
“Usually if a team goes short and stuff, you can get a lot of energy through their tackles in the forwards, but that wasn’t happening. Pauric came on and he probably settled us down. It was an unbelievable performance from a fella who hasn’t hurled all year.
“We’re so happy to have him back. The county final doesn’t need much building up. It’s old rivals coming back together again in a county final. But look, that’s why you play and that’s why you play in these big games. It’s unreal.”
