Munster Club hurling final/ Newtownshandrum 0-16 Ballygunner 1-12: December hurling shouldn't be as lively as this but yesterday's AIB Munster club final would have cracked a smile out of Ebenezer Scrooge. Played out on the seasonal miracle of the Semple Stadium pitch, which though it threw up a few divots in the second half retained enough cut to allow Newtownshandrum inject impressive pace into the game, it ended with the Cork team precariously ahead and pocketing a second Munster title in three years.
At times the crowd of just over 5,000 must have looked at Jerry O'Connor and Alan T O'Brien motoring through the pale sunlight and thought they were back in June.
It was, however, a deserved victory. Ballygunner might have had a free at the very end but they had been outmanoeuvred at critical times and failed to turn a second-half goal into the turning point it might have been for them.
Newtownshandrum at times dazzled with their quick support play and ability to exploit the abundant space in Thurles.
Ballygunner though stayed the distance. When it looked as if their effervescent opponents might burn them off the Waterford club kept in touch and, having landed the afternoon's only goal in the final quarter, opened up a three-point lead.
There were some outstanding individual performances to go with the overall quality of the match, which featured great long-range shooting and excellent defending.
In fact the two prime candidates for the man-of-the-match gong were the centre backs, Pat Mulcahy and Fergal Hartley. The latter won the TG4 vote but it could as easily have been the former.
Mulcahy's tight marking and ability to dig the ball out of dangerous situations was a major obstacle for Ballygunner, whereas Hartley read loose clearances with digital precision and cleaned up a rake of ball.
Newtown were quickly into their stride, confidently moving the ball out of defence, with support runners never far away, creating openings and opportunities.
Accuracy was impressive on both sides, the Gunners posting only one wide in the entire first half and Newtown waiting until the 34th minute for their first.
Centrefield was a fruitful source over the hour with all four players on the mark, Cathal Naughton and Ballygunner captain Andy Moloney registering three points each from play.
The match moved incrementally through the first half with never more than a point between the sides for most of it.
Paul Flynn wasn't able to register his usual impact on the Ballygunner scoreboard - by the look of things injury had caught up with him. Even a couple of close-in frees didn't wreak their customary havoc; he took his point with the first and saw his second scrambled clear.
He still posed problems close to goal. In the 17th minute, skilful shepherding of the ball was followed by a clever clip into the path of Gearóid O'Connor, and his shot had to be scooped off the line by Mulcahy.
Two minutes later Flynn drew a good block from Paul Morrissey but he struggled in the second half, which he played too deep.
There was only a point in it at the break, and on the restart Newtown looked as if they were going to pull away. John and Ben O'Connor took nice points to push their lead to 0-10 to 0-7 before Ben missed a scoreable free when referee Ambrose Heagney could have played advantage - something the Clare official resolutely refused to do throughout the match.
Two scores from Colin Kehoe cut the gap back to one and then in the 46th minute Billy O'Sullivan dropped a long ball in on the Newtown square. Paul Foley - moved off the 40 when it became clear that Mulcahy wouldn't be tolerating the sort of four-point barrage the big forward got in the semi-final - broke up the play and O'Connor scrambled it into the net.
Moloney followed with another huge point and Ballygunner moved three clear.
But the one thing the Cork side can always rely on is their imperturbable calm. There were still over 10 minutes left and Newtown set about dismantling the three-point lead. Characteristically they did it without the need for a goal. The O'Connors, John and Ben, combined again to close the gap within five minutes.
Then with deadlock at 0-14 to 1-11, Tommy Power tried his hand with a line ball and was wide. Within seconds Ben O'Connor was emulating a first-half point by nailing his second pointed line ball.
Yet again Power had the another identical chance. He couldn't do any better and hit it short. In a stunning display of their game at its best, Newtown worked the ball out of defence intricately before launching a great ball in behind the Ballygunner rearguard. John Paul King ran into the open acres and flashed over a point.
Flynn was wide with a chance and then converted a free to ensure a nervous conclusion.
NEWTOWNSHANDRUM: P Morrissey; G O'Mahony, B Mulcahy (capt), D Gleeson; AT O'Brien, P Mulcahy, P Noonan; C Naughton (0-3), Jerry O'Connor (0-1); D Mulcahy, John O'Connor (0-3), JP King (0-2); J O'Mahony, J Bowles (0-1), B O'Connor (0-6, three frees, two sidelines). Subs: M Farrell for J O'Mahony (47 mins).
BALLYGUNNER: P Haran; A Kirwan, W Kiely, R O'Sullivan; N O'Donnell, F Hartley (0-1), W Hutchinson; C Kehoe (0-2), A Moloney (0-3); B O'Sullivan, P Foley, S O'Sullivan (0-1); T Power, P Flynn (0-4, one 65, two frees), G O'Connor (1-1).Subs: S Walsh for S O'Sullivan (46 mins), M Kearney for Foley (51 min), D O'Sullivan for B O'Sullivan (58 mins).
Referee: A Heagney (Clare).
