O’Sullivan goals help’s Gunners to Championship number 13

Ballygunner are Waterford Senior Hurling County champions for a thirteenth time and have gone joint second with Erin’s Own on the Roll of honour after easing to a 2-16 to 0-9 win against Mount Sion in Walsh Park.

Twelve months ago, Ballygunner again reached the final where they played neighbours Passage who trailed by seven points with as many minutes to play against their more famous neighbours, but the Gunner’s on that occasion had to settle for second best as Passage struck with a late barrage of scores to draw level and then go in front with a late goal to win their first title.

However this time around, the Gunners made no mistake as they lead from the off, hitting two goals in the first quarter of this games, scores that would set them up for a thirteen point victory, the second biggest winning margin between the two in a county final, only bettered by Mount Sion who won the clash between the two in the Millennium year on a 1-21 to 0-9 score line.

Played in front of what many would say was a disappointing 3,206 spectators the winners blitzed their opponents in the second half, outscoring the Monastery Men eleven points to two to win the game with some ease.

The victors played with a strong breeze at their backs in the first half, at the turn around they held a 2-5 to 0-7 lead. The expectation was with the wind at their backs for the second half Mount Sion would come storming back into the game but it never happened.

Ballygunner got off to a storming start to this game. Pauric Mahony put over a brace of early points before Man of the Match Brian O’Sullivan who finished with 2-2 to his name on the score sheet cracked the first of his goals on seven minutes, reacting quickest to a Pauric Mahony free that dropped short of its intended target.

Mount Sion hit back with points from Ian Galgey and Richie Roche to leave Brian O’Sullivan’s goal separating the sides but this was to prove to be as good as it would get for Mount Sion.

Pauric Mahony notched on his third point of the game on thirteen minutes and when Harley Barnes found the impressive Brian O’Sullivan moments later, the Ballygunner corner forward made no mistake in beating Ian O’Regan in the Mount Sion goal for the second time in this game.

Mount Sion staged a purple patch in the minutes that followed with Martin O’Neill putting over three points in a row to leave four between the sides.

Pauric Mahony gave Ballygunner a double score (2-4 to 0-5) lead on twenty minutes.

Mount Sion would just about shade the final ten minutes of the half on the score board, outscoring their cross city rivals 0-2 to 0-1, Martin O’Neill hitting a brace of score’s for Mount Sion with Pauric Mahony sending the umpire reaching for the white flag for Ballygunner between O’Neill’s brace which game Ballygunner a 2-5 to 0-7 advantage at the break.

People often talk about the advantage of playing with the wind and in particular in the second half when the sides are starting to tire, but the simple truth is while the wind is often a help to a side, the wind has yet to be engraved on a trophy as the championship winner.

In Ballygunner’s case at Walsh Park playing with the wind did not phase them in any way as they proved to be without question to be the better team on the day.

Mount Sion had good goal scoring opportunities after the break, through Ian Galgey, Tony Browne and Austin Gleeson, but they could not beat Stephen O’Keeffe. With these missed chances went any real chance Mount Sion had of extending their lead on top of the Roll of Honour when it comes to Championship wins.

Pauric Mahony opened the second half scoring with a point for Mount Sion which was cancelled out soon afterwards with an effort from Martin O’Neill.

Barry O’Sullivan with a brace and in between Harley Barnes landed points for Ballygunner which gave them a 2-9 to 0-8 lead with thirty-six minutes played.

Martin O’Neill pulled a point back for Mount Sion on forty-one minutes but it would prove to be his sides last score of the game.

The last seven scores of the game all went to a dominant Ballygunner side. Pauric Mahony gave his side a seven point cushion with seventeen minutes remaining. JJ Hutchinson landed a brace of points which gave Ballygunner a nine point lead with eleven minutes still to play.

Top scorer Pauric Mahony landed points for the Gunners on 51, 54 and 58 minutes to give his side a 2-15 to 0-9 lead.

Man of the Match Brian O’Sullivan rounded off the afternoon’s scoring on the hour mark when he had his second white flag of the afternoon raised to go with the two green ones he had raised in the first half.

Ballygunner will now play Clare Champions Cratloe who won their second Banner Championship at the weekend end  they easily accounted for Crusheen, at the end of the month in the quarter finals of the Club championships at a Waterford venue (most probably Walsh Park) with the winners going on to play the Tipperary champions on the weekend of November 9 at a home venue for Ballygunner or Cratloe.  

Ballygunner: Stephen O’Keeffe; Alan Kirwan, Barry Coughlin, Stephen O’Keeffe; Philip Mahony, Wayne Hutchinson, Shane Walshe; Harley Barnes, Shane O’Sullivan; Pauric Mahony, Barry O’Sullivan, David O’Sullivan; Brian O’Sullivan, JJ Hutchinson, Conor Power. Subs: Peter Hogan for Conor Power, Conor Sheehan for Barry O’Sullivan, Barry O’Sullivan for David O’Sullivan, Stephen Power for Barry O’Sullivan, Robbie Cunningham for Alan Kirwan, Gary Molloy for Harley Barnes.

Scorers: Padraic Mahony 0-10 (0-7 fs, 0-1 65); Brian O’Sullivan 2-2; JJ Hutchinson 0-2; Barry O’Sullivan and Harley Barnes 0-1 each.

MOUNT SION: Ian O’Regan; Mark Hoban, Christopher Ryan, Stephen O’Neill; Michael Gaffney, Austin Gleeson, Owen Whelan; Martin O’Neill, Stephen Roche; Tony Browne, Eoin McGrath, Martin F O’Neill; Richie Roche, Sean Ryan, Ian Galgey. Subs: Peter Penkert for Christopher Ryan, Kenny Stafford for Sean Ryan, Michael Daykin for Richie Roche, Gavin Carroll for Martin F O’Neill.

Scorers: Martin O’Neill 0-7 (fs); Richie Roche, Ian Galgey 0-1 each.

Referee: Martin Curran (Sean-Phobal)