Ballygunner survive furious endgame to keep record within their sights

Munster SHC semi-final: Na Piarsaigh (Limerick) 1-9 Ballygunner (Waterford) 0-16

In the end it was a bit anxious at the TUS Gaelic Grounds but AIB Munster champions Ballygunner survived to keep their record three-in-a-row ambitions alive going into next month’s provincial final against Clonlara of Clare.

Even Limerick champions Na Piarsaigh must have been surprised to have shaved the margin to a single score going into injury-time but they got the bit between their teeth and flung in a succession of high ball on the square to try to engineer a second goal.

The first came after Ballygunner’s goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe had saved a free, optimistically blasted by Ronan Lynch, out for a 65, which gave the Limerick champions another pull on the fruit machine. This time it paid out with Adrian Breen getting the vital shot in to make the score 0-15 to 1-9.

In the barrage that followed there was still time for David Dempsey to miscue a clip at a bobbling ball in the goalmouth and for Kevin Downes at the very end to sweep another shot just wide,

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The Gunners gathered themselves sufficiently to stretch the margin to four with a Pauric Mahony free in the 63rd minute for 0-16 to 1-9 and that’s how it ended.

In a way, the champions gave a more dominant display than a year previously when they came off the ropes, losing by five at half-time to effect a 10-point turnaround. This time, they were combative in the first half-hour – if not proportionately ahead – and once more the second-half swung decisively their way until the very end.

Incrementally they built a lead from the narrowest of margins at half-time to eight points with less than five minutes to go before an unanswered concession of 1-2 threw everything back into jeopardy.

Like last year, Pauric Mahony emerged as man of the match, his 11-point haul just two fewer that 12 months ago and his overall presence and industry set a headline for everyone else. Until the late air raids, the defence had held up very well and Na Piarsaigh took more than 20 minutes of the second half to score a second point.

Mahony’s brother Philip at centre back was in the vanguard of contesting the last attack, emerging more than once from a thicket of players with the ball.

The teams had lined up with Ballygunner fielding precisely the same 15 as last year whereas Na Piarsaigh had three changes in personnel. The match also had a different complexion. Twelve months ago, the Limerick champions had pushed their opponents around in the first half before being overwhelmed after the break.

This time it was a hard grind with neither side getting away, although the champions looked the more threatening team even though facing a strong wind.

On this occasion they led by one at the break rather than trailing by five, but can’t have been overly pleased with the lead given that in the 22nd minute they by four, 0-7 to 0-3. But they failed to score again before half-time, while Na Piarsaigh rattled over three points.

There were also a couple of goal chances for the usually prolific Dessie Hutchinson. One in the third minute was saved by Shane Dowling, the All Star forward converted into a goalkeeper, and the second a few minutes later when Mike Casey got his body in the way of a goalbound shot.

Na Piarsaigh did their best to replicate last year’s physical challenge and some early hard presses on the Ballygunner puck-out made it hard for the champions to play out from the back. Will O’Donoghue imposed himself on the game and in the 15th minute put in a good ball for Dempsey, whom Barry Coughlan did well to thwart.

On the occasions Ballygunner did get the ball into attack, Hutchinson and Patrick Fitzgerald, who both scored goals last year, set off alarm bells when in possession, although they ultimately managed just two points between them, both by Hutchinson.

Nonetheless, as manager Darragh O’Sullivan said afterwards, his forwards worked tremendously hard – none harder than Peter Hogan and Mikey Mahony – to show for ball and track back when required. There was, though, none of the flow of the previous year when both sides played very well in either half.

There were more rucks than down the road in Thomond Park, which inhibited the spectacle, but the 20 minutes after half-time contained the best hurling as Ballygunner hustled their opponents and showed good appreciation of each other to open up chances with their centrefield of Conor Sheahan and Paddy Leavey prominent.

The teams swapped wides from frees on the resumption – and Shane O’Sullivan was yellow carded for a foul on Mike Foley just before the break – but Mahony made immediate amends with a fine score from play.

There were further scores from Hutchinson, Ronan Power, who was a constant menace at wing back, and the club’s most famous substitute, Harry Ruddle, arrived to hit another. Overall they outscored Na Piarsaigh 0-8 to 0-1 up to the 51st minute.

O’Sullivan admitted the late revival had worried him.

“We were eight up and they brought it back and we won by four in the end. There was a hairy moment there at the end at three points and Philip came out with a couple of balls. We will have to look at it and analyse it and see what happened there. When they come at you they are so good and just throw caution to the wind.”

NA PIARSAIGH: S Dowling; E McEvoy, M Casey (capt), C King; V Harrington, W O’Donoghue, M Foley; C Boylan, JJ Carey; K Downes, P Casey, D Dempsey; W Henn (0-1), R Lynch (0-7, six frees, one 65), A Breen (1-1).

Subs: K Dempsey for Carey (44 mins); J Fitzgerald for Foley (49); W Kerans for King (51).

BALLYGUNNER: S O’Keeffe (jc); I Kenny, B Coughlan, T Foley; S O’Sullivan, Philip Mahony (jc), R Power (0-2); C Sheahan, P Leavey; M Mahony, Pauric Mahony (0-11, six frees, two 65s), P Hogan; K Mahony, D Hutchinson (0-2), P Fitzgerald.

Subs: H Ruddle (0-1) for Fitzgerald (46 mins); B O’Keeffe for Hogan (60 mins).

Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary).