Ballyhale Shamrocks (Kilkenny) 1-16 Ballygunner (Waterford) 0-16
Penalties scored and penalties missed. One of the game’s greatest ever players getting his team over the line. Yes, quite the day at Croke Park.
TJ Reid’s 49th-minute penalty was the difference, rifled home just moments after he had another one saved, as Ballyhale ended Ballygunner’s reign as All-Ireland club SHC champions.
The high drama of last February, when Harry Ruddle’s speculative Hollywood effort with the last shot of the All-Ireland final snatched victory for Ballygunner, has played on a loop ever since in the soul of the Ballyhale players. The hurt stayed raw.
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The fuel of that pain was driving them on all season, as the Kilkenny champions searched out a reunion with their Waterford counterparts. Ballygunner entered the game carrying the air of confidence that can only come from winning an All-Ireland, and they had been impressive all the way through Munster.
Ballyhale, on the other hand, hurled with all the fluidity of a blocked drain at stages during the Leinster Championship. But they squeezed through it and they got the game they wanted against the team they wanted. Time to tango.
“I think we spoke here a couple of weeks ago, there was a lot of questions about this team, lot of people maybe felt they weren’t at the level, they were slipping, felt we hadn’t a panel, felt we hadn’t the fitness,” said manager Pat Hoban.
“I think today we had two guys off after 15 minutes, we proved we have a panel, we proved we had subs and we proved that we’re good enough to be in an All-Ireland final.”
Indeed they did. And were it not for the heroics of Ballygunner goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe then Ballyhale could have been planning for Dunloy long before the final whistle here.
O’Keeffe produced an incredible shot-stopping display, pulling off four superb saves before Reid finally found a way through what had started to look like an impenetrable forcefield around the Ballygunner goal.
O’Keeffe made two saves from close-range shots in the first half and another pair of outstanding stops in the second, including one from a Reid penalty. His first-half stop from Adrian Mullen just before the interval was one of the best saves produced at Croke Park all year.
“Outstanding, that’s what he is,” remarked Ballygunner manager Darragh O’Sullivan. “He’s doing that day in day out for us, he’s a special guy and a special player.”
But Ballyhale are a special club. The sides were level on 0-11 at half-time but after a tight opening period Ballyhale assumed control in the second half, the Ballyhale defence led by Joey Holden pinned down the Ballygunner attack while Reid and Eoin Cody led the way at the other end of the field.
Ballygunner hit seven second-half wides, dropped another short and created just one goalscoring chance, which was well saved by Dean Mason. At the other end, Ballyhale were like a battering ram, repeatedly pounding the Ballygunner rearguard with surging attacks.
It kind of felt like Ballyhale would find a way through eventually, but when Reid had a penalty saved by O’Keeffe at a stage when the Kilkenny side were just one point ahead, you wondered was it going to be one of those days.
But just moments after having that penalty saved, Reid cut through the Ballygunner defence and was about to let off a shot when he was sliced down by Shane O’Sullivan. Penalty.
Reid had sent his first penalty to O’Keeffe’s right. He stood over the second one and went to the same side, but low and closer to O’Keeffe’s body this time and the Ballygunner number one wasn’t able to get down quickly enough to save, 1-14 to 0-13.
“He’s an orchestrator of all teams that he’s involved in and on the biggest days is the day you need TJ to stand up. And after missing the penalty he showed absolute belief in his ability to come up and stick the next one,” added Hoban.
“I give Stephen O’Keeffe fantastic praise for the saves he pulled off. We were very conscious of it, when the guys got in, keep the ball low. But it didn’t matter – he pulled off great saves.”
Ballygunner never closed the gap to more than three points over the remainder of the encounter and during the closing stages they went in search for another Harry Ruddle moment, but to no avail.
“You might have heard me shouting, ‘Remember February!’ It was a bit like that, you’re always fearful that something might just go wrong but they held out well,” said Hoban.
Ballyhale will now face Dunloy in an All-Ireland final back at Croke Park on the weekend on January 21st-22nd. They will enter that decider as strong favourites to add a ninth title, extending their lead at the top of the roll of honour ahead of Birr and Portumna, who both have four.
For Ballygunner, the greatest journey in the club’s history is over for now. But with talent like Patrick Fitzgerald coming through, the Waterford side are unlikely to drift back to the shadows.
“We’re gutted, sick, very disappointed,” admitted O’Sullivan. “That’s the nature of sport, some days you have fabulous days, last time here an unbelievable day. No one will ever take that from us.
“We are so proud of the lads, they ticked every single box that is there to be ticked, they had no more to give, what they gave over the last number of years, they have been phenomenal.
“We came here as All-Ireland champions, we lost our title today but years back we were dreaming and we did get that All-Ireland title. We’ll be back, the age profile of that team is young, 10 are under 26, there are a lot of young lads coming. We’ll be back.”
But so too are Ballyhale Shamrocks, not that they ever went away.
BALLYHALE SHAMROCKS: Dean Mason; Darren Mullen, Joey Holden, Killian Corcoran; Evan Shefflin, Richie Reid, Darragh Corcoran; Ronan Corcoran (0-1), Paddy Mullen (0-1); Adrian Mullen (0-1), TJ Reid (1-8, seven frees, one 65, 1-0 penalty), Joey Cuddihy (0-1); Eoin Kenneally (0-1), Colin Fennelly (0-1), Eoin Cody (0-2).
Subs: Brian Butler for D Mullen (6 mins); Niall Shorthall for Cuddihy (13); Conor Walsh for Kenneally (63)
BALLYGUNNER: Stephen O’Keeffe; Ian Kenny, Barry Coughlan, Tadhg Foley; Shane O’Sullivan, Philip Mahony, Ronan Power (0-1); Conor Sheahan (0-1), Paddy Leavey; Peter Hogan, Mikey Mahony (0-1), Pauric Mahony (0-6, four frees); Patrick Fitzgerald (0-2), Dessie Hutchinson (0-4), Kevin Mahony (0-1).
Subs: Billy O’Keeffe for M Mahony (49 mins); Harry Ruddle for Fitzgerald (55).
Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway).
