Ballygunner have room for improvement insists Darragh O'Sullivan

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Ballygunner manager Darragh O'Sullivan during the game. Pic Credit ©INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

With a raised arm, Darragh O’Sullivan acknowledged the final whistle and a win that was well earned by his Ballygunner troops.

It was by no means pretty but for the third meeting in succession they were able to come out on top against a team that once could have described as a bogey side for them.

“Lot of similarities with last year and this year,” he said of the 2022 Munster semi-final.

“It was a titanic struggle, five in it last year, four in it this year. They put us to the pin of our collar last year, we were under serious pressure at half-time, we turned it around.

“In the second half (at the end), we were only hanging on there. That's just a testament to how good they are, in fairness to them. They've fabulous players all over the field.

“In the end we just barely held on. I couldn't see a lot, I was so far away from it, but Socky (Stephen O’Keeffe) made a great save in the end there too, but look, we'll look back on it, we'll take all the positives and we'll take the lessons we need to learn as well. I'm sure we will find areas in which we can improve.”

O’Sullivan was delighted to be ahead at the break when he felt the elements could have hurt them more. “There was an extremely strong wind, five or six point wind without a shadow of a doubt. It was hard to get the ball, even Stephen with his puckouts, hard to get it into the other half, so that's the struggle.

“They'd the same problem in the second half, they couldn't get it up into their half from their puckout. In the modern game, the puckout is so important, but look I'm thrilled with the guys.

“We'd an early start again this morning. This is fourth year in a row we were up this side of the country. We were in Ennis, we were in Sixmilebridge, and last two years we've been in the Gaelic Grounds, we had massive days every day.” Heavy favourites here, Ballygunner will be even stronger ones against Clonlara in the provincial final on Saturday or Sunday week but O’Sullivan was already insisting it will be a battle.

“Clonlara have been knocking on the door in Clare for a number of years, serious forward line. We're going to have to get right back to the level of that today and anyone who thinks any different, I think they need to realise there's going to be a savage Munster final in a couple weeks’ time. We got to make sure we're at the pitch of it.”