Intensity is the only factor that might prove to the detriment of Ballygunner’s bid for an eighth consecutive Waterford Senior Hurling Championship title.
The Gunners meet Mount Sion for the first of the weekend’s two semi-finals at Walsh Park on Saturday at 4.30pm.
Ballygunner coasted past Ballyduff Upper and survived a scare versus Abbeyside in the groups, before producing a superb second half scoring burst to finish off Fourmilewater last time out.
Mount Sion have beaten De La Salle before defeat at the hands of Dungarvan, but they bounced back from that to dispatch of last year’s finalists Passage.
Former Waterford U-20 hurling manager Stephen Gough says that while it’s hard to see anyone putting a stop to Ballygunner’s 41-game winning streak in Waterford, Mount Sion will go in full of confidence.
“It’s going to be hard for any team to beat Ballygunner but one thing I can assure you knowing Mount Sion the way that I do is that they’ll be going up there with confidence on Saturday afternoon. There’s going to be a huge Mount Sion crowd there.”
Ballygunner’s wealth of options and spread of potential scorers poses a real conundrum for any team that face the eight in a row seekers, and Gough says getting the tactics right against them is not always straightforward.
“If Mount Sion do sit back and maybe leave the Ballygunner half back line dictate with the ball out of defence that they have and the quality on the ball, it’s a double edged sword. You push up and you leave space in the back line and the likes of Dessie Hutchinson and Kevin Mahony will pick you off. The half back line is capable of putting balls over the bar or picking out the men inside with pinpoint passes.”
Gough believes that an intense performance with energy from Mount Sion is the only way they could topple the Gunners.
“It’s going to have to be an intense performance full of energy from Mount Sion. They have to do so much in terms of stopping Ballygunner getting the ball out. If they do that, they’re in with a great chance but it’s a very big ask. You have to make sure that you’re covering space in your own back line too.”
Waterford Senior Hurling Panel Selector Stephen Frampton says it’s hard to put your finger on one particular thing that makes Ballygunner so special.
“It’s management and player led. We all know that there are certain times in clubs where you’ll get a certain group of players who stick together. We’re lucky in Ballygunner with the group we have here. There’s a core group of experienced players.”
Frampton says the Ballygunner team simply love winning.
“They just love their hurling and they love winning. We’re just lucky that they haven’t decided ‘that’s my hurling done, I’m going to go off and do something else now’. That happens in every club and it happens in Ballygunner as well. They’re lucky that there’s a certain group of players who have decided to stay at and they’re all very talented.”
The production of young players along the production line will also be key to the success of the club.
“It’s so important. You can’t be relying on the same players all the time. When I say we’ve a bunch of players - it’s a core group, but there are young players coming in to complement them every year.”
Waterford camogie boss Derek Lyons says there’s one key factor that Mount Sion need to maintain - their trademark intensity.
“They’re not going to change too much. It’s the Mount Sion way. They play tough aggressive hurling. If they can do that and sustain that for 60-63 minutes - that intensity will be crucial. They have match winners in the likes of Austin Gleeson.”
You can hear the full thoughts of Stephen Gough, Stephen Frampton, Derek Lyons and Brian Flannery on our podcast page.
WLR will broadcast the game live this Saturday with commentary from Kieran O’Connor and Michael Ryan.
