Gunner’s Complete Drive For Five

            The Drive for Five is completed for Ballygunner who became only the third Waterford club to win Five County Senior Hurling Finals in a row, following on from Erin’s Own and Mount Sion who went on to win nine each in a row in the past, and right now there is many within the Déise County who are suggesting that ‘The Gunner’s’ could go on and maybe better what their city rivals achieved in the past over the coming years.

             And the signs are looking good for Ballygunner. The Average age of the 15 players that started last Sunday was just over 26 years. The average age of the 20 players used on Sunday last was just under 26. Just two of the starting fifteen was over the age of 30.

            Last weekend did not see Ballygunner only the Senior County Final at Fraher Field. 24 hours earlier at Walsh Park they won the Minor County Final and on the same day in Fraher Field their under 14 team were beaten by Abbeyside in the County Final. And if that is not enough, The Gunners are in this weekend’s County Under 16 final against city rivals Roanmore in Fraher Field.

            If Ballygunner as a club can get the best of the young players on these underage teams to gel with the current senior panel, coming in over time to take the place of the clubs more established players, then there is no reason to think that the club founded by local school teacher Jimmy McGinn back in 1954 can replicate and maybe better what those before them have achieved.

            But for many how good this group of players and those coming after them will not be measured on winning five county finals in a row up to now, and potentially what they will win in the years to come, but what they achieve after winning the championship locally, and right now you have to feel that they are good enough to add to the single Munster Title that they have won, and to even go on and become the first Waterford Club to win at Croke Park on Saint Patrick’s Day.

            Played in front of a bumper attendance of 4,275 which was almost double what attended the final twelve months ago when Ballygunner beat De La Salle at Walsh Park, the winners were always the better side in this contest and the only questions that needed filling for many from the off was what tally Ballygunner would put on the score board and what the winning margin would be

            This final however never was as good as many would have hoped it would be, but for now the Ballygunner players, their mentors and supporters will not be bothered by that fact.

            They played into the strong wind which blew into the Town (road) end of Fraher Field in the first half and turned around holding a 0-9 to 0-6 lead on the score board.

            The Village side won the toss before this game and got off to a good start when top scorer Mark Ferncombe was picked out by John Hurney and he split the posts.

            They doubled their lead with a point from Patrick Hurney and in between could have scored a goal but Sean Whelan-Barrett shot wide from close range from a tight angle. Had that chance got past Stephen O’Keeffe in the Ballygunner goal we will never know if this game would have had a different end.

            Ballygunner opened their account on six minutes when Pauric Mahony put over a free and the same player repeated the act less than a minute later to draw the sides level.

            Barry O’Sullivan and Maurice Power swapped scores by the end of the first quarter at which the sides were level at three points each on the score board.

            Abbeyside with the wind at their backs hit the next two scores both from Mark Ferncombe frees but this was as good as it got for them.

            A brace of Pauric Mahony scores, one from a free the other from play levelled matters with five minutes of the first half remaining and when he followed up with another brace in the next two minutes his sides were getting very much into their strive.

            Brian O’Sullivan and Billy O’Keeffe helped extend their sides lead either side of the thirty minute mark to go four in front, but a John Hurney effort just before the short whistle cut the Ballygunner lead to three as the sides went to the dressing rooms.

            Mark Ferncombe started the second half as he started the first with a point inside a minute of the restart, put three points in a five minute spell had Ballygunner five points up after 37 minutes.

            The games first goal came on 40 minutes when Tim O’Sullivan picked out Brian O’Sullivan with a smart pass and from close range he made no mistake in putting the sliotar past Stephen Enright in the Abbeyside goal.

            Pauric Mahony and Mark Ferncombe swapped scores before Patrick Hurney was sent to the line on a straight red on 45 minutes after he was reported to referee Thomas Walsh by his officials for interfering with Philip Mahony’s helmet.

            Pauric Mahony put over the score of the game on 49 minutes while falling to the ground which Mark Ferncombe responded to just seconds later, but with the next attack Ballygunner put the icing on the victory cake when Conor Power broke free of the challenge of Darragh McGrath and placed the ball under Stephen Enright to put his side 2-14 to 0-9 in front.

            Mikey Mahony and Michael O’Halloran traded scores just before Stephen O’Keeffe made a brilliant save going low to deny Michael O’Halloran and from the resulting ’65 Mark Ferncombe split the Ballygunner posts.

            Brian O’Sullivan and Pauric Mahony extended the Ballygunner lead before Michael O’Halloran pulled a point back on the hour mark. 

            Brian O’Sullivan and Pauric Mahony added scores in stoppage time for the winners with Mark Ferncombe hitting one for the Village side in between leaving them wait for their first Senior Hurling title for another time, but judging on what we saw here, it could be some time off, not because of the way Abbeyside played here, but because of the way Ballygunner played and with what they seem to have coming through in the years ahead.

Ballygunner: Stephen O’Keeffe; Eddie Hayden, Barry Coughlan, Ian Kenny; Wayne Hutchinson, Philip Mahony, Harley Barnes; Shane O’Sullivan, Michael Mahony; Billy O’Keeffe, Pauric Mahony, Barry O’Sullivan; Tim O’Sullivan, Brian O’Sullivan, Conor Power.

Subs: JJ Hutchinson for Billy O’Keeffe (48), Conor Sheehan for Michael Mahony (59), Barry Power for Wayne Hutchinson (61), Paddy Cooke for Stephen O’Keeffe (63), Mark Mullally for Conor Power (64).

Scorers: Pauric Mahony 0-13 (8fs), Brian O’Sullivan 1-3, Conor Power 1-0, Billy O’Keeffe, Barry O’Sullivan, Michael Mahony 0-1 each.

            Abbeyside: Stephen Enright; John Elstead, Brian Looby, Darragh McGrath; James Beresford, David Collins, Sean O’Hare; Conor Prunty, Maurice Power; Patrick Hurney, Tiernan Murray, Neil Montgomery; John Hurney, Mark Ferncombe, Sean Whelan-Barrett.

Subs: Richie Foley for Tiernan Murray (H-T), Tom Looby for Sean O’Hare (H-T), Michael O’Halloran for Sean Whelan-Barrett (42), Mark Twomey for John Elstead (56), Eoin Kiely for Neil Montgomery (58).

Scorers: Mark Ferncombe 0-8 (3fs, 1 65), Michael O’Halloran 0-2, Maurice Power, John Hurney, Patrick Hurney 0-1 each.

Referee: Thomas Walsh