*A disappointed Shane O’Donnell watches on as Ballygunner are crowned Munster champions. Photograph: Ruth Griffin.
ÉIRE ÓG’s historic hurling season has come to an end at the hands of Ballygunner who have now won more Munster senior hurling titles than any other club in the province.
Ballygunner 0-21
Éire Óg 1-9
Venue: FBD Semple Stadium, Thurles
No doubting who the kingpins of Munster are as Ballygunner not only soared to their fourth provincial senior club crown in five years but also moved to the top of the roll of honour with a sixth title in Semple Stadium, Thurles.
Unfortunately for Éire Óg, it would prove a step too far but that was as much to do with the lofty bar that Ballygunner ruthlessly set as any misgivings from the Clare champions.
The twelve-in-a-row Waterford winners clinically punished almost every Éire Óg error and up front their movement and understanding provided more headaches than the Townies defence had had to contend with all year.
Man marking was impossible as Ballygunner’s fluidity pulled and dragged Éire Óg’s spine into submission while a domination of their opponents puck-out also starved the Ennis side’s much heralded attack.
It was the ultimate learning curve really as for all the strides made by Gerry O’Connor’s side this year, Ballygunner demonstrated that there’s still a few rungs of the ladder to go before they can etch their name on the prestigious O’Neill Cup.
Nothing from the opening ten minutes suggested how one-sided the remainder of the half would be as Éire Óg twice hit the front thanks to main player Shane O’Donnell’s ingenuity while Danny Russell and Darren Moroney provided the scores to inch 0-3 to 0-2 in front.
Up the other end, goalkeeper Darragh Stack tipped away an ambitious Kevin Mahony shot but once Ballygunner did find their feet, they swiftly moved through the gears with ruthless efficiency.
Like the Harlem Globetrotters of club hurling, some of their scores were out of the top drawer as the movement and flick could only be admired as Ballygunner fired the next six points through Dessie Hutchinson (3), Patrick Fitzgerald (2) and Pauric Mahony to completely flip the script by the 20th minute at 0-8 to 0-3.
Danny Russell did convert a much-needed free to end Éire Óg’s 14 minute barren patch but it would be answered by another four point blitz as Pauric Mahony and the outstanding Dessie Hutchinson were joined on the scoreboard by Peter Hogan and Conor Sheahan at 0-12 to 0-04 by the break.
Now facing into the conditions, it initially seemed a daunting task to keep Ballygunner at bay but to their credit a Shane O’Donnell led Éire Óg actually matched their opponents in an encouraging third quarter.
Danny Russell and Shane O’Donnell cancelled out Patrick Fitzgerald and Pauric Mahony’s early strikes while points Mikey and Pauric Mahony were met by a three point rally from the Clare winners.
Shane O’Donnell won a brace of frees that Russell inevitably potted while Oran Cahill also chipped in with a beauty to lessen the damage to seven by the three quarters mark.
Unfortunately, they were unable to sustain that tempo though as Ballygunner hit back with a match-winning four point unanswered burst through Hutchinson (2), Peter Hogan and a Patrick Fitzgerald free to power eleven points clear at 0-20 to 0-09.
(All photographs by Ruth Griffin)
True to character, Éire Óg refused to accept their fate and would be finally rewarded for their persistence when Shane O’Donnell caught a Danny Russell free only to be held for a penalty that Danny Russell cooly dispatched to the bottom left corner of Stephen O’Keeffe’s net on the hour mark.
O’Keeffe had to be alert to keep out another lofted free that appeared to be flick goal wards by Robert Loftus but while it was a heartening finish, it was never going to alter the result that Ballygunner clinched with a Peter Hogan injury-time point.
In what was their eighth successive Munster final, a fifth title in seven attempts is a worthy reward for a super Ballygunner side that now need to transfer that dominance on the All-Ireland stage.
Scorers: for Ballygunner: Dessie Hutchinson 0-7, Pauric Mahony 0-5 (4f), Patrick Fitzgerald 0-4 (1f), Peter Hogan 0-3; Conor Sheahan 0-1, Michael Mahony 0-1
Scorers for Éire Óg: Danny Russell 1-6 (1-0 Pen, 6f), Darren Moroney 0-1, Shane O’Donnell 0-1, Oran Cahill 0-1
Ballygunner
1: Stephen O’Keeffe
4: Tadhg Foley
3: Ian Kenny
2: Aaron O’Neill
5: Harry Ruddle
6: Philip Mahony
7: Ronan Power
8: Conor Sheahan
9: Paddy Leavey
15: Michael Mahony
11: Pauric Mahony
12: Peter Hogan
13: Patrick Fitzgerald
10: Dessie Hutchinson
14: Kevin Mahony
Subs
19: Mark Hartley for Pauric Mahony (46)
22: Cormac Power for K. Mahony (54)
18: Eoin Cuddihy for Fitzgerald (57)
17: Eoin O’Brien for Foley (58)
20: Billy O’Keeffe for Ruddle (65)
Éire Óg
1: Darragh Stack
2: Fionán Treacy
3: Ciaran Russell
6: Aaron Fitzgerald
5: Robert Loftus
17: Jarlath Collins
4: Liam Corry
8: Oran Cahill
11: David Reidy
12: David McNamara
9: Darren Moroney
25: Tom Kavanagh
15: Marco Cleary
14: Danny Russell
10: Shane O’Donnell
Subs
7: Rian Mulcahy for Corry (36)
18: James O’Dwyer for McNamara (46)
13: Darren O’Brien for Kavanagh (46)
19: Conor Perrill for Cahill (51)
22: Eoin O’Regan for Reidy (56)
Referee: Alan Tierney (Tipperary)
