“It was about having no regrets” - Hutchinson

Player of the Match Dessie Hutchinson admitted Ballygunner needed “harsh words and constructive words” at half-time before producing a dominant second-half display to defeat St Martin’s and book their place in the All-Ireland club hurling final.

Hutchinson finished with 0-7 as Ballygunner overturned a two-point half-time deficit, taking control after the break to pull clear of a stubborn St Martin’s side.

“It was a game of two halves,” Hutchinson said. “In fairness to St Martin’s, they’re an unbelievable team. We’ve played them many times in challenge games and we knew exactly what was coming today.

“The first half, we took time to find our rhythm, but that was because of the work rate of St Martin’s and the way they set up. Fair play to them in that first half.” Ballygunner trailed by two points at the interval and briefly fell three behind early in the second half, but Hutchinson said experience and clarity of message proved crucial.

“We went away from little things we were doing all year,” he explained. “We probably weren’t running as hard off the shoulder. But again, it was the way St Martin’s set up – they were quite defensive and hard to break down.

“At half-time, the big message was that there was no tomorrow. Just come out and have no regrets coming off the pitch, whatever the result was.” That approach paid immediate dividends as Ballygunner seized momentum from the restart.

“Thankfully, we kind of took over from the get-go,” Hutchinson said. “It was a massive, massive performance in the second half. Teams with less experience might have panicked being two points down, but we stayed calm.” Asked what changed after the break, Hutchinson pointed to sharper execution across the pitch.

“It was a bit of everything,” he said. “Our decision-making definitely improved. We were hitting the ball into a lot of bodies in the first half, but in the second half we played that extra pass to get us out of trouble, and that opened things up.” The victory sends Ballygunner back into an All-Ireland final after recent disappointments on the big stage.

“We’re just so happy to be back in the All-Ireland final,” Hutchinson said. “We’ve had a tough couple of years, even though we’ve been successful. We’ve been beaten in a couple of semi-finals and obviously the Munster final last year, so this is a massive result for us.” With Loughrea awaiting in the decider at Croke Park, Hutchinson said the occasion carries extra meaning beyond silverware.

“We spoke during the week about having a good Christmas and putting a smile on people’s faces,” he said. “In the past, we’ve probably brought down the Christmas party for our families.

“My grandfather was at home – he had a bit of a scare a couple of weeks ago – and to get him to Croke Park today was special.”