Ballysaggart advance to Munster Final

Ballysaggart’s year just gets better and better.

A week after ending Waterford’s long run of poor results in the Munster Junior Club hurling Championship, they have become only the second Waterford Club to reach a Munster Final at this grade, following on from Tramore in 2004, when they were beaten in the final by the then Cork champions Ballygarvan on a 0-16 to 1-5 score line.

Like many others within the county, I am not happy with the way those charged with picking the various awards presented with by the county board have gone about their business. This year the committee have named three people or clubs for the majority of their awards from which one will be picked as the overall winner.

In the club of the year, Passage, De La Salle and Abbeyside/Ballinacourty are all fighting it out for the overall award, and which ever that does come out on top, will be a worthy winner, but you cant but feel do the judging committee now have some egg on their face that Ballysaggart have qualified for a Munster Final, which they have an excellent chance of winning.

For a such a small club with such a small population (we are told it’s around 250), making them possibly the smallest club in the county, to reach a Munster Final on December 8 is a great achievement.

The only saving grace it could be argued for the committee tasked to pick the various winners is that they have not announced all the winners. There is a Special Merit or Achievement Award to be picked and it’s possibly fair to say that when the award winner is announced next weekend, that the Name of Ballysaggart GAA Club will be engraved onto the winners prize.

For the second week running, Ballysaggart got off to a great start in this game. Stephen Bennett opened the scoring on two minutes and it was followed up with an effort from Barry Murphy four minutes later.

The same two players in the same order repeated the act which gave Ballysaggart a four point lead with just ten minutes on the clock.

Knockshegowna however were not going to throw in the towel too early without a fight, and they added a brace of scores through Declan Costello with five minutes of the first half still to play.

However, Ballysaggart in the time that remained in the first half as they have done several times this year proved to be the stronger of the two teams and finished the opening half with Kieran Bennett and Michael Kearney getting on the score sheet to give them a 0-6 to 0-2 lead at the interval.

Ballysaggart began the second half as they ended the first as Stephen Bennett and then Darren Meagher hit points which gave them a six point lead.

Declan Costello from a placed ball pulled a point back for the Tipperary representatives in this years competition to leave five between the sides.

On thirty nine minutes, Ronan Walsh did well to pick out Stephen Bennett with a cross field delivery and once in control of the ball, he made no mistake in beating Richard King in the Knockshegowna goal with a low hard shot.

Declan Costello and Stephen Bennett swapped scores to keep Ballysaggart 1-9 to 0-4 in front with the game having entered its final quarter.

Costello added his fifth for Knockshegowna from a free shortly afterwards, but points from Kieran, Shane and Stephen Bennett in that order followed to wrap up the victory for Ballysaggart.

The visitors did strike for a late consolation goal from the stick of Declan Costello in the closing moments of the game, their only score of the game that did not come from a free.

Ballysaggart haven played many of their games close to home throughout the year, now have a relatively short journey to travel for their Munster Final.

Limerick side Feenagh-Kilmeedy will provide the opposition for Ballysaggart at Mallow on December 8, after they beat Clare champions Bodyke 1-14 to 1-11 at Sixmilebridge last week.

In the first semi final, an early second half burst saw the Limerick side advance in this semi-final. Locked at 0-5 a piece at the break, Feenagh-Kilmeedy hit 1-3 in the opening six minutes of the second half, the goal coming from Diarmuid Coleman which the Clare champions found hard to respond to.

Despite their early burst in the second half, the Limerick side however had to withstand a good finish by Bodyke who with sixty minutes played lead 1-13 1-11 and had to face a twenty metre free which they managed to save and go down the field to get the insurance score.

Hurling will be on a high in Limerick at this point following Na Piarsaigh’s comfortable win over Sixmilebridge in the Senior Munster Club Final which will mean that Feenagh-Kilmeedy will go into the December 8 clash in a confident mood, but so too will Ballysaggart who have an excellent chance of securing a first Munster success at this level of hurling for Waterford.