Waterford SHC: No clouds on nine bid for slick Ballygunner
JOB WELL DONE: Ballygunner fans high five Pauric Mahony after the game. Pic: INPHO/Tom Maher
Fortunately, this wasn’t a repeat of the landslide that marred last year’s final between these two sides but Ballygunner’s superiority eventually shone through in Walsh Park.
A record-equalling ninth consecutive Waterford SHC title remains the carrot for the All-Ireland champions after an emphatic second-half display that stretches their unbeaten run in the county to a stunning 47 matches.
Fortunate to be ahead at half-time, 1-5 to 0-7, the uncertainty in their play disappeared thereafter. In the first 17 minutes of the second half, they outscored Roanmore 1-7 to 0-2 and that was effectively that.
Pauric Mahony, whose radar in the first half was upset by the wind if not the uneven surface, sent over three of the half’s first four points from placed balls. Points from Dessie Hutchinson and Kevin Mahony followed and the signs were ominous for Roanmore.
Lee Hearne’s 44th-minute point for them was their first score from play in over 40 minutes of action, Hearn having sent over the previous one in the third minute. By the end, Roanmore could muster just four points from play, one of them a consolation score.
The game was put out of their reach in the 46th minute when starlet Patrick Fitzgerald, who was introduced as a first-half substitute, collected a ball in the right corner, rounded his marker and cleverly bounced a strike past Jack Chester. There was a question of a Ballygunner foul in the build-up but there was no doubting their dominance as the green flag sent them nine points clear, 2-11 to 0-9.
Adding a point to it less than a minute later and eventually finishing with a 1-2 tally, teenager Fitzgerald exhibited exactly why Ballygunner are so excited about his potential. He will need minding, of course, and Darragh O’Sullivan might prefer to keep him in reserve for next Sunday.
“We look at Patrick Fitzgerald as a long-term project in the club,” said the manager. “He came into the field probably 25 minutes into the first half, so that will tell you how much we feel he can contribute to this team.
“But, look, he’s still learning, he’s a very, very young lad and I wouldn’t like pressure coming on him from every angle, whether it be from us, from the media. We have to be very careful about how we deal with talents like Patrick Fitzgerald.”
Alongside Hutchinson, Fitzgerald will eventually form a formidable inside line, although plenty should be said for Kevin Mahony who, while he wasn’t on as remarkable in the scoring stakes, was Ballygunner’s best player when Roanmore were making life troublesome for them in the opening quarter.
As much as they were unlucky to be behind on the turnaround, Roanmore managed just two first-half points from play. Getting in the faces of Ballygunner like they did paid off but it was always going to be a question of how long they could sustain it. Certainly, they expended a lot of emotional energy in staying with their vaunted opponents. After losing by 20 points last year, that would have been expected, but facing the wind in the second half they looked zapped.
In fairness to Peter Queally, choosing to go man-on-man with Ballygunner was a brave move and a statement at least that Roanmore are willing to take them on at their own game. Their homework on Stephen O’Keeffe’s puck-outs showed too but the former Waterford goalkeeper was able to vary them abetted by the elements.
“We were asked serious questions there, especially in the first half,” said O’Sullivan. “But the lads stuck at it and the second-half performance was really, really good. I don’t think we worked hard enough in the first half, to be honest. The stats in the first half weren’t good but overall you have to be happy with a semi-final win by nine or 10 points.”
Ballygunner’s first goal, converted by Hutchinson and teed up by the lively Kevin Mahony, came in the 17th minute and against the flow of the game after Roanmore marksman Gavin O’Brien had sent over the three previous scores from frees.
Seemingly undeterred by that setback, Roanmore went ahead through another O’Brien free in the 19th minute but didn’t score for the remainder of the half and some of their momentum was lost to a string of frees put wide by O’Brien.
After Conor Shehan levelled the game with his second point, Hutchinson had a low percentage shot saved by Jack Chester in the 24th minute. However, Hutchinson was able to finish out the half with a beautiful effort on the half-hour mark. which as it turned out was a sign of things to come.
Pauric Mahony (0-8, 6 frees, 1 65); D. Hutchinson, P. Fitzgerald (1-2 each); E. Sheahan, K. Mahony (0-2 each); T. O’Sullivan (0-1).
G. O’Brien (0-8, frees); L. Hearne (0-2); E. Flynn (0-1).
S. O’Keeffe; I. Kenny (j-c), B. Coughlan, T. Foley; Philip Mahony, S. O’Sullivan; C. Sheahan, P. Leavey; T. O’Sullivan, M. Mahony, P. Hogan; D. Hutchinson (j-c), K. Mahony, Pauric Mahony.
P. Fitzgerald for R. Power (inj 26); B. O’Keeffe for T. O’Sullivan (54); C. Power for D. Hutchinson (58).
J. Chester; F. McGrath, C. Chester, C. Wadding; D. Walsh, R. Furlong, D. Hayes; Billy Nolan, C. Dempsey; E. Flynn, G. O’Brien, Brian Nolan (c); L. Hearne, S. Mackey, C. Ryan.
E. O’Toole for C. Dempsey (inj 44); I. Chester for D. Hayes (48); S. Burke for Brian Nolan (inj 50).
N. Barry (Passage).
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