Passage look for history to be repeated while Ballygunner look for third ever three in a row

This year’s County Senior Hurling Championship has not until now set many lights lighting.

When the draws were made at the start of the year, the two groups were very lopsided.

Group A contained four strong sides amongst the six drawn, Ballygunner, De La Salle, Passage and Dungarvan were always going to quality for the last eight of the competition from a group that also contained last year’s Intermediate champions Portlaw and Ballyduff Upper.

Group B was always going to be a much tougher affair. While the group contained none of the big guns in the county in the last few years, but did contain one of the counties traditional strongest teams Mount Sion. Last year’s beaten finalists Tallow were also in the group, along with Abbeyside, Fourmilewater, Roanmore and Cappoquin.

On paper little separates the six clubs with all six believing that on any given day they could beat any other.

Fourmilewater and Roanmore for a while out looked to be the strongest sides in the groups and it was no surprise to see the pair advance to the last eight.

Mount Sion you would always give them a chance of advancing and thanks to a strong finish to the group stages they advanced while Abbeyside were the fourth side to advance but will know that along the way they had their luck, Stephen Enright saving a second half penalty against Cappoquin at Colligan proving to be a key moment in their campaign.

The quarter finals threw up no great shock either.

Dungarvan needed extra time to overcome the challenge of a Roanmore side that are always very difficult to beat.

Mount Sion and De La Salle needed two attempts to find a winner when the pair clashed at Walsh Park. The Monastery men ran out 0-23 to 1-14 winners recently.

Passage proved that little bit too strong for Fourmilewater at Fraher Field and on the same evening at the same venue, players, supporters and officials were left in the dark as to what would have happened in the last of the quarter finals when the lights went out with a quarter of an hour to go and Abbeyside playing well and leading against a fancied Ballygunner side.

When the sides clashed in the re-fixture there was no doubting the final outcome as Ballygunner were by far the stronger side and ran out convincing winners with fourteen points to spare.  

The first of the semi-finals this year was always going to be a tight affair with Passage winning out 1-13 to 1-12 against Dungarvan.

The second semi-final many felt was always going to be a four-gone conclusion and it was to a degree as Ballygunner beat Mount Sion 1-18 to 0-11.

And so the results of the semi-finals results set up a repeat of the 2013 final in this year’s County Final.

When the Waterford News and Star Cup is lofted into the air at Walsh Park on Sunday, we know one of the ribbons on it will be red. The only question we need answering now is whether the other ribbon will be black or white.

Ballygunner will go into this game as they did in 2013 as the favourites to add to the fourteen titles that they have won at this level of hurling between 1966 when they won their first and last year when they recorded a two in a row beating Tallow at the Keane’s Road venue.

But at this stage it would be foolish to write off the chances of their neighbours who already have won the County Senior Hurling League and Sargent Cup crowns this year.

Just as was the case in 2013, the two sides clashed on-route to this weekend’s games. And just was the case back then it was Ballygunner that won the earlier game between the two sides, but this year’s clash was a much closer affair with just five points between the sides at the end of the hour when they met on September 25.

Passage however will need no telling that the result of that game will bear no result on the outcome of this game as the only similarity there is between games between the same two sides is that they all start with no score each showing on the score board.  

This weekend’s final as the making of an intriguing battle.

Both sides have some powerful score getters in their line up and they will want them to be at their very best if Ballygunner are to win a fifteenth title or Passage were to win a second title.

For the Gunner’s having missed much of last year due to injury Pauric Mahony is back to his best this year and has hit 1-36 for the reigning champions. Not far behind him on the scoring stakes is Brian O’Sullivan who has hit 6-16 while Stephen Power has also hit an impressive 4-20.

Passage also have had some big hitters. Killian Fitzgerald and Owen Connors have hit thirty one points each this year while former inter county player Eoin Kelly showed throughout the year that he has lost none of his touch hitting an impressive 3-16.

And it’s not just these three players each that are going to be vital for their side.

Stephen O’Keeffe is one of the best goalkeepers in the game. In front of him Barry Coughlan, Wayne Hutchinson, Harley Barnes, Billy O’Keeffe, David, Shane and Tim O’Sullivan and Philip Mahony are key.

For Passage, they too have their stars.

Eddie Lynch is also a fine goalkeeper. Noel Connor is their stand out defender, while the likes of Tommy and Owen Connors, Pa Walsh, Sean Hogan, Jason Roche, Jason Flood, Mitchell Baldwin and Richard Hurley are also equally as important to their side.

Ballygunner go into this weekend’s game as favourites to win but also many are then expecting them to do well in the Munster Club Championship.

Many are saying that the game is theirs to loose. But let us not forget that we said the same back in 2013.

With ten minutes to go in that game people were heading for the exits and heading along the Keane’s and Paddy Browne Roads. Passage were seven points down with as many minutes of normal time remaining.

But the eventual winners proved that no game is over till the final whistle is blown and in those final minutes they outscored their opponents to win 3-16 to 3-13 in one of the most extraordinary finishes to any game ever played at the venue.

It will be music to the ears of the Passage supporters to hear their side hopes written off before the game has even started.

We are told that history does not repeat itself but we know it does. Can history repeat itself here?

It is possible. But I for one am going with the general public and think Ballygunner will win. But remember I did likewise again three years ago.