Too close to call, could even be a draw

UNLESS you’re in a situation where the protagonists are regular winners of their own county titles, and thus meet thereafter on a fairly regular basis, trying to predict what’s going to happen in a provincial club final is pretty much an impossible business.

Newtownshandrum have won four Cork county titles this decade, Ballygunner three in Waterford, but only once before have they come across each other in Munster, four years ago.

Newtownshandrum won 0-16 to 1-12, courtesy of a five-point run in the last 10 minutes, but what can we tell from that? Alright, most of the Newtown team is still in place, with two from the full-back line (Brendan Mulcahy and Dermot Gleeson, captain this year), two half-backs (long-serving Pat Mulcahy and Phillip Noonan), and both midfielders (Cathal Naughton and Jerry O’Connor, now operating on the 40).

In the forwards, however, only Ben O’Connor is ever-present. John Paul King, James Bowles and John O’Connor are still vying for places, while Jerry O’Mahony is now at corner-back. But Newtownshandrum now have a few new faces competing strongly for places up front, with Michael Bowles and 17-years-old Jamie Coughlan well established. Elsewhere, Seán O’Riordan has come in at wing-back, and PJ Bowles is alongside Cathal Naughton in midfield.

In Ballygunner, this was supposed to have been a transition season, several magnificent clubmen gone out to grass, the likes of Billy O’Sullivan, Stephen Frampton, Ray Whitty and Niall O’Donnell, replaced by a raft of teenagers – Brian O’Sullivan (no relation to Billy, but son of Tadhg, the renowned surgeon from Cork), Stephen Power and the Mahoney brothers Phil (corner-back) and Paraic (wing-forward), another 17-yr-old.

No-one was counting on the influence of new coach Ger Cunningham, however. Remember him? The man not even considered worth a phonecall when the Cork job became vacant after the retirement of John Allen, even though he’d been a selector for the previous two years?

Well, in his first year at the helm, the Gunners have defied the odds in Waterford, won what is arguably the toughest championship in Munster (Cork was a cakewalk for Newtown, Limerick owned by Adare, Clare a county in transition with two new champions in the last two years, Tipperary the only real argument against the above proposition), and from there, have taken Ballygunner to another Munster final.

They’ve had their battles in Waterford, not least in the final, where they had to come from nine points behind to draw with Lismore, then won the replay by just a point. They’re a quality side, those youngsters doing the business for them, but – and there is a ‘but’ – again and again we see the same two names coming up, the same names that anchored Ballygunner to their only Munster crown, in 2001.

Fergal Hartley is 37, Paul Flynn two years younger, and – testament to their undoubted class – they are still the stars, with veteran Andy Maloney also making an impressive late-season charge. A good mix, then, of youth and experience, all well coached.

A result? Whatever about the changing faces in Newtown and Ballygunner, one vital aspect has remained constant – the Newtown game plan. Manager Phil Noonan has definitely improved the team this year, brought some expert trainers on board in the persons of Cian O’Neill and Will McCormack, but Newtown are still basically a running, ball-keeping, ball-carrying team, heavily reliant on pace and skill.

Current conditions mitigate very much against that style, which leaves the Cork champions vulnerable. This will be close, very close – could even be a draw.