Ballygunner 2-11 Mount Sion 0-8
Ballygunner remain on the throne of Waterford hurling after the kings of the club game heralded in a record-equalling ninth consecutive county senior title.
The reigning All-Ireland club champions weathered a mini second half Mount Sion revival to ease out comfortable winners in horrible conditions at Walsh Park. The victory sees Ballygunner become only the third club to claim nine-in-a-row in Waterford, and the first since Mount Sion achieved the feat between 1953-61.
“We never never spoke about nine all year,” said Ballygunner manager Darragh O’Sullivan.
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“But when I wake up tomorrow morning and think of what we’ve done and the lads will wake up and there will be a smile on their faces thinking, ‘Jesus, we’ve done something really special here’.
“Did we ever think we would get to it? Probably not but we’re there now and the club is extremely strong, and you’d like to think we’re going to be there fighting at the top table for a long time to come.”
Ballygunner led from start to finish and were 1-5 to 0-3 ahead at half-time in a game where the quality was hampered massively because of the wet and slippery underfoot conditions – the final score indicating a humdrum football match, never mind a county senior hurling decider.
Not that the rain hindered the vision and reaction of Ballygunner goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe, who was superb throughout, making three point-blank saves, including one from an Austin Gleeson penalty in the first half. O’Keeffe was named man of the match, and the former Waterford goalkeeper should expect a Davy Fitzgerald ‘please-come-out-of-retirement’ call someday soon.
“I can’t wait to watch it back, to be honest,” said O’Sullivan on his goalkeeper’s performance. “He’s as good as what there is or what there ever was, that’s how good this guy is. He’s a phenomenal goalkeeper.”
In the opening exchanges, referee Thomas Walsh allowed proceedings to develop like a Brian Cody training session, with plenty of walloping but very little whistling. Shane O’Sullivan, who was given the job of marking Gleeson, squared up to the Mount Sion captain several times during those pattern-less early minutes of rolling mauls.
When the game did eventually settle, Ballygunner looked to have more scoring options than Mount Sion, who were last Waterford champions in 2006. Indeed, Mount Sion’s first score from play did not arrive until midway through the second half.
Ballygunner should have been further ahead at half-time only for them needlessly overcomplicating some of their attacks by trying to force goals rather than take points. However, if their problem was not taking their chances, Mount Sion’s was an inability to create enough.
With Gleeson lining out at wing forward, and regularly dropping even deeper, they struggled to make anything stick up top as the Ballygunner defence emerged with possession time and time again. Mount Sion were outmuscled in most areas of the field.
The only occasion Mount Sion broke the Ballygunner defence open in the first half was when a beautiful blind reverse hand-pass by Gleeson sent his brother, Jamie, through on goal on the quarter hour mark. Just as he was about to strike the ball Jamie was fouled by Barry Coughlan, but he did get his shot off only for O’Keeffe to react brilliantly to save. With no advantage gained, a penalty was awarded.
Austin stood up to take the penalty but his shot high to the right of O’Keeffe was superbly saved, ensuring the score remained 0-2 to no score.
“I just watch the ball and react as quick as I can, and thankfully I got to this one,” said O’Keeffe afterwards. “I know Aussie scored one on me last year as well, so 50-50 I suppose at this stage.”
Moments later Gleeson landed a booming free from his own 45 metre line over the Ballygunner crossbar to open his side’s account. But the opening goal of the game arrived from the resulting puckout, and that was a theme of the day as on each occasion the challengers popped over a score, the champions immediately responded down the other end. Pauric Mahony rifled home the goal after a wonderful catch and offload by his brother, Mikey.
All three of Mount Sion’s three first half points came from Gleeson. Early in the second half Alan Kirwan whizzed an effort low to O’Keeffe’s right-hand side but the Ballygunner number one somehow managed to get down and save.
“I think that was just one from pure instinct. There wasn’t much time to see the ball,” recalled O’Keeffe.
Evan Curran scored Mount Sion’s first from play in the 42nd minute while Owen Whelan battled tigerishly to keep his side in contention. Gleeson hit four second half wides but in the 51st minute he set off on a gallop from his own defence that ended with him flicking over the score of the game, 1-10 to 0-8.
As the Mount Sion faithful in the stands started to feel that score could shift the momentum, Ballygunner’s reply ended the game as a contest – Peter Hogan striking the ball high to the far corner of Ian O’Regan’s goal.
Ballygunner, still kings.
BALLYGUNNER: S O’Keeffe; I Kenny, B Coughlan, T Foley; R Power, Philip Mahony, S O’Sullivan; C Sheahan, P Leavey; M Mahony (0-1), Pauric Mahony (1-4, four frees), P Hogan (1-1); D Hutchinson (0-2), K Mahony (0-1), P Fitzgerald.
Subs: B O’Keeffe (0-2) for Fitzgerald (44 mins), J Foley for Pauric Mahony (59 mins), T O’Sullivan for K Mahony (59 mins), D O’Keeffe for Sheahan (63 mins), B O’Sullivan for Power (63 mins).
MOUNT SION: I O’Regan; M Daykin, L O’Brien, PJ Fanning; Martin F O’Neill, S O’Neill, B Flanagan; S Roche, E Curran (0-1); A Gleeson (0-5, four frees), O Whelan (0-1), A Kirwan; Martin O’Neill (0-1), J Meaney, J Gleeson.
Subs: J Kennedy for Meaney (32 mins), D Butler for J Gleeson (41 mins), P Penkert for Curran (54 mins), D Power for Flanagan (61 mins).
REFEREE: Thomas Walsh (Modeligo)
