Experience the key as Flynn powers Gunners to victory

Ballygunner 2-12 Garryspillane 1-11

Ballygunner’s vast experience of the Munster club championship scene was a hugely influential factor in their hard earned but richly deserved four-point victory over Garryspillane in a thrilling first round game at the Gaelic Grounds yesterday, earning them a semi-final date with Clarecastle on home soil on Sunday week

A disappointing attendance of 2,539 revelled in every minute of a contest that was waged with real championship intensity. Ultimately, the Gunners’ greater experience of occasions such as this carried the day, as exemplified by Fergal Hartley, Andy Moloney and Paul Flynn.

Flynn leaves for a golfing holiday to the Algarve this morning having delayed his departure by 48 hours to help the Gunners cause, and they’re lucky he did - without his massive input it’s unlikely they would have prevailed.

Two crucial first half goals, a late second half point that was pure class, and a final tally of 2-4 was the Flynn contribution and close enough to a man of the match performance.

In stark contrast, some of Garryspillane’s key men never quite measured up to the demands of the occasion - the Ryan brothers, TJ and Donie, certainly have had more productive outings. However, the losers made it an absorbing battle all the way and began in such whirlwind fashion that they threatened to engulf the Gunners in the early stages.

Veteran Frankie Carroll was out of traps in jig time, pointing a free inside a minute and landing a real beauty from play two minutes later. Flynn put the Gunners on the board inside another sixty seconds but almost immediately Carroll rattled the net from close range for Garryspillane - it was an early Christmas present from full-back Willie Kiely, who completely missed Michael O’Donnell’s long range delivery. The rangy full-forward didn’t need a second chance to rattle the net.

Kiely was finding those early sequences extremely troublesome as Carroll continued to forage menacingly, but luckily for the Waterford champions they had the ‘old reliable’ in the person of Flynn to fall back on. One sensed that he had ‘goal’ only on his mind when he stepped up to take a 13th minute 20-metre free awarded for a foul on himself. The radar was uncanny, as was the power of his delivery, drilling an unstoppable ball past the defensive wall.

Full-back John Sheehan was finding the All-Star more and more of a problem as the half advanced, and after Pat Tobin kicked a great goal chance wide for Garryspillane, Flynn snapped up a long delivery from outstanding wing-back Wayne Hutchinson on sixteen minutes and in a twinkling had goalkeeper Darren Hayes again picking the ball from the net.

Billy O’Sullivan stretched their advantage with one of the points of the game, and while the inspirational Davy Ryan at centre-back pointed a long-range Garryspillane free the Gunners weren’t flattered by their 2-4 to 1- 5 half time lead.

It didn’t take Garryspillane long to spell out their intent on the restart, level inside five minutes with a sweetly struck point from play by Tobin and a brace from frees by Davy Ryan in reply to Flynn’s super point from play.

The Gunners’ response, however, was as emphatic as it was impressive. Three points (two from frees) by an emerging Tommy Power and one from play by the now dominant Andy Moloney and they regained a lead they never relinquished.

Their inside line of defence, shaky early on, had by now come to grips with Carroll and company, and the more the game advanced the more Ballygunner confidence grew.

Garryspillane briefly thought they had levelled on the three quarter hour mark when Maurice O’Brien connected with Michael O’Donnell’s delivery to flick the ball to the net, but it was clearly a square infringement that brought a relieving free out to the Gunners. In hindsight it proved to be the last throw of the dice for the Limerickmen.

Goalkeeper Hayes denied Flynn with a magnificent save at the expense of a 65 which Power clinically converted, and when TJ Ryan’s goal effort from a close in free was diverted over by a defender for a point the Garryspillane cause was well and truly lost.

Flynn closed his account for the day with a majestic point in the 54th minute with substitute Shane Walsh adding another before Carroll had the final say with a Garryspillane point two minutes from time.

Far too little and far too late, it was Gunners glory all the way.

Scorers: Ballygunner: P. Flynn (2-4, 1-2 frees); T. Power (0-4, 0-2 frees, 0-1 “65’); G. O’Connor (0-1); A. Moloney (0-1); B. O’Sullivan (0-1); S. Walsh (0-1). Garryspillane: F. Carroll (1-5, 0-3 frees); Davy Ryan (0-3, frees); P. Tobin (0-1); Donie Ryan (0-1); T. J. Ryan (0-1, free).

BALLYGUNNER: P. Haran; N. O’Donnell. W. Kiely. R. O’Sullivan; W. Hutchinson. F. Hartley. A. Kirwan; C. Kehoe. A. Moloney; B. O’Sullivan. P. Foley. S. O’Sullivan; T. Power. P. Flynn. G. O’Connor.Subs: S. Walsh for B., O’Sullivan; D. O’Sullivan for Power; M. Kearney for D. O’Sullivan.

GARRYSPILLANE: D. Hayes; J. Kiely. J. Sheehan. A. Noonan; C. Hickey. D. Ryan. S. Burke; J. Ryan. M. O’Connell; T. J. Ryan. P. Tobin. M. O’Brien; D. Ryan. F. Carroll. E. Bourke.Subs: V. O’Connell for Bourke.

Referee: S Roche (Tipperary).