Anthony Daly: Dunloy must believe and hope Ballyhale can't be as pumped again

Can Dunloy summon the resolve and absolute brilliance required to take down a side in their fourth successive All-Ireland final?

READY FOR BATTLE: Joey Holden of Ballyhale Shamrocks, left, and Ryan Elliott of Dunloy Cú Chullains pictured ahead of the AIB GAA All-Ireland Hurling Senior Club Championship Final. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile

In the immediate aftermath of the All-Ireland semi-finals in mid-December, all the talk was naturally about the Ballyhale Shamrocks-Ballygunner game, and the standout takeaways from that match; Stephen O’Keeffe’s brilliance, Ballyhale’s resilience and defiance, and their absolute refusal to be beaten by the Waterford champions for the second time in ten months.

In the minds of the hurling public, Ballyhale were almost anointed All-Ireland champions on the spot. That wasn’t being disrespectful to Dunloy because it was just reality over-ruling a fairytale ending.

Ballyhale usually don’t partake in fairytale endings, but after finding themselves in that position when Ballygunner took them down with the last puck last February, there was almost an acceptance after the All-Ireland semi-final that the ruthlessness and single-mindedness that has returned them to this place will ensure Ballyhale won’t find themselves back there in that dark place again tomorrow.

The odds for this game clearly reflect that perception because Ballyhale are effectively 1/8 favourites. When those odds were more or less drawn after the semi-finals, I remember thinking, ‘God, could Dunloy have written away for a better way to go into this final?’ They were impressive in their semi-final against St Thomas’ but it was almost as if that game didn’t even take place. You can just imagine the buzz in the club and community afterwards, especially with that game taking place a week before Christmas. It must have been like Mardi Gras up there for a week.

And yet, in the midst of all that celebration, I’m sure the players wouldn’t have allowed themselves to get carried away, particularly with Dunloy’s history in All-Ireland finals. Four previous finals ended in defeat. The current crew desperately don’t want this to be a fifth.

Loughgiel Shamrocks will always be regarded as hurling royalty in Ulster. Their two All-Irelands have guaranteed that status. Dunloy occupy a special place in the hearts and minds of the hurling community because no other Ulster side has reached as many All-Ireland finals. But there comes a time too when getting there is no longer enough. And Dunloy have long passed that threshold in their minds.

This is a mind game against the machine but that’s just one of the many battles Dunloy will have to wage, and win. Can they summon the resolve and absolute brilliance required to take down a side in their fourth successive All-Ireland final? Can they somehow find something that they have probably never gone close to finding in the past?

Dunloy have to believe that it is possible. Otherwise what’s the point? Their starting point will have been the handful of cracks Ballyhale have shown over the last 12-14 months. St Rynagh’s should have dumped them out in Leinster in November 2021 before Eoin Cody scrambled a ball over the line with almost the last play.

The St Thomas’ side that Dunloy beat five weeks ago had the Shamrocks over a barrel in last year’s semi-final until TJ Reid saved them with a miraculous late goal from a free. Kilmacud Crokes had them on the rack in the Leinster final until a soft goal broke their momentum and turned the match.

If I was Gregory O’Kane this week, I would be saying to the players, ‘Look, if we absolutely focus on ourselves, if we can get the absolute maximum out of ourselves, let’s see where that can take us’.

You can’t say that Dunloy have nothing to lose. But if they play with complete freedom and abandonment, refuse to admire the guys in the white and green jerseys, they will at least give themselves a right chance. The longer you stay in the fight, the more chance – as Ballygunner showed 11 months ago – you have to land that decisive haymaker.

Gregory will also know that if they don’t go out with that attitude, the result will be the same as it always has been in finals. Worse again, this could be even uglier than the 1995, 1996, 2003 and 2004 final defeats.

It’s only natural for there to be an air of trepidation. I just hope it doesn’t go that way, where Ballyhale cut loose early on and the air and energy is sucked out of the game before Dunloy know where they are.

Dunloy will believe they have the experience, and armoury, to at least ensure that doesn’t happen. Conor Cunning is a serious player while Keelan Molloy’s goal against Thomas’ was as good as any score we’ve seen in Croke Park – Gearóid Hegarty’s wonder strike last July being the notable exception - over the last five years.

Nigel Elliott looks like another quality player. If Ryan McGarry and Kevin Molloy attack the ball down that central defensive corridor like they did in the semi-final, a shock isn’t beyond the bounds of possibility.

McGarry will have to try and at least break even in his battle with Colin Fennelly because, despite TJ’s greatness, Adrian Mullen’s brilliance and Eoin Cody’s ability to bag big scores, Fennelly is a massive player in dictating how this forward line functions. TJ is possibly the greatest ball-winner in the history of the game but Fennelly is such a huge target-man close to goal that if he starts pulling balls out of the sky, Ballyhale could cause rack with their runners coming from deep.

McGarry is a big, physical, strong player who will manfully take on that challenge. Yet no matter what Dunloy do, doing enough to get the win just looks beyond them. There aren’t many forward lines – at inter-county never mind club level – that could boast players of the quality of TJ, Fennelly, Adrian Mullen and Cody. But Ballyhale are about far more than just those four.

Joey Holden was superb against Ballygunner. Richie Reid has developed into a brilliant player, a guy who wasn’t far off an All-Star in 2022. Paddy Mullen has been very effective at midfield alongside the impressive Ronan Corcoran. Even when Darren Mullen went off early against Ballygunner, the Shamrocks could bring on Brian Butler, a fella who has done it in the past and who looked at home in Croke Park, just like the rest of his team-mates.

The hunger of Ballyhale has been incredibly impressive. They have been relentless in their drive to get back to this stage but, much of that manic pursuit was framed around hunting down Ballygunner. Now that they have, can they be as pumped again?

I think probably they will be, especially when last year’s All-Ireland final defeat is still so fresh in their minds. If Ballyhale are at their best, or anywhere even close to it, they will win with a bit to spare.