BALLYGUNNER’S ASPIRATIONS OF three titles in a row in Munster remain on track and their consistency in reaching provincial finals continues.
For the sixth season in succession, the Waterford champions will be present on Munster senior club hurling final day, pitching up against Clare’s Clonlara in a fortnight.
They were full value for this progression against their major rivals of the last decade, Na Piarsaigh.
The game struggled to ignite, in stark comparison to the free-wheeling classic of twelve months ago. But Pauric Mahony’s assured scoring yielded 0-11 for the winners and they held off a late rally, inspired by Adrian Breen’s goal for the Limerick kingpins.
At half-time the score in that 2022 semi-final stood 2-11 to 1-9 in Na Piarsaigh’s favour, the 0-7 to 0-6 advantage Ballygunner enjoyed here at the interval was reflective of a tie where defences locked down.
The match flared to life on a couple of occasions before the break, a rousing Will O’Donoghue catch and burst forward drew a free that Ronan Lynch pointed to leave just one in it. Then just as the half-time whistle was blown, Na Piarsaigh defender Vince Harrington was on the receiving end of a withering challenge that drew players from all sectors into a crowd underneath the Mackey Stand.
Goal chances arrived for both sides and were not capitalised on. Dessie Hutchinson had two sights of the net in the early stages, Shane Dowling reacted sharply to tip one around the post and Mike Casey blocked another to bail out team-mate Mike Foley who had seen a defensive pass intercepted.
More to follow…
Scorers for Ballygunner: Pauric Mahony 0-11 (0-6f, 0-2 ’65), Dessie Hutchinson 0-2, Ronan Power 0-2, Harry Ruddle 0-1.
Scorers for Na Piarsaigh: Ronan Lynch 0-7 (0-6f, 0-1 ’65), Adrian Breen 1-1, Will Henn 0-1.
1. Stephen O’Keeffe (joint captain)
2. Ian Kenny, 3. Barry Coughlan, 4. Tadhg Foley
5. Shane O’Sullivan, 6. Philip Mahony (joint captain), 17. Ronan Power
8. Conor Sheahan, 9. Paddy Leavey
15. Mikey Mahony, 11. Pauric Mahony, 12. Peter Hogan
10. Dessie Hutchinson, 14. Kevin Mahony, 13. Patrick Fitzgerald
Subs
1. Shane Dowling
2. Emmet McEvoy, 3. Mike Casey (captain), 4. Cathal King
7. Vince Harrington, 6. Will O’Donoghue, 5. Mike Foley
8. Conor Boylan, 10. JJ Carey
12. Kevin Downes, 11. Peter Casey, 9. Ronan Lynch
14. Will Henn, 13. Adrian Breen, 15. David Dempsey
Subs
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)
Written by Fintan O’Toole and posted on the42.ie
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