Ballygunner 0-25
Doon 0-20
THE MUNSTER TITLE holders received a ferocious test in their 2024 provincial opener today but Ballygunner survived as they showcased their class in the second half to progress against newly-crowned Limerick champions Doon.
A week after making history when they claimed their maiden county title at this venue, Doon were in front 0-12 to 0-8 at the interval of this quarter-final encounter. That was thanks to a powerful finish to the first half as they outscored Ballygunner by 0-7 to 0-1 in the spell after the 23rd minute.
But Ballygunner excelled after the break, producing passages of play that illustrated their excellence. Chris Thomas, who had a superb game in Doon colours with four points, opened the second-half scoring to push Doon five clear, before Ballygunner reeled off seven points without reply to go ahead by two after 42 minutes.
They were indebted to the magnificence of goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe, who produced a string of superb saves, particularly one astonishing stop from Jack Ryan early in the second half. A goal at that stage would have sent Doon seven clear, instead Ballygunner cleared and the outstanding Dessie Hutchinson pointed at the other end to cut the gap to three.
Doon’s resilience surfaced as they fought to the finish. They tied the game at 0-15 apiece in the 43rd minute and when Ryan raised a white flag, there was only a point in it, 0-18 to 0-17, with ten to go.
A stirring contest packed with energy would culminate in Ballygunner storming for the finish line, winning the remainder of the game by 0-7 to 0-3. Hutchinson and Patrick Fitzgerald were particularly prominent in the second half, finishing with 0-10 from play in total between them, while free-taker Pauric Mahony registered 0-11.
Adam English bagged 0-10 for Doon, while Thomas impressed with his tally of four and Pat Ryan notched a brace of points.
Their challenge flagged in the finale but for long stretches here, Doon were terrific. English shone in that first half, helping them gain a foothold in a game where they trailed 0-5 to 0-4 after the opening quarter.
O’Keeffe tipped away an Eddie Stokes shot in the 10th minute, while Tadhg Foley did well on another occasion for Ballygunner when Kevin Maher threatened to find the net for Doon. The Limerick kingpins saw their hopes rise with a flurry of late first-half points, the highlight being Darragh O’Donovan’s individual effort in injury-time.
Yet the game swung sharply with O’Keeffe’s marvellous save from Jack Ryan’s shot and the goalkeeping star also denied Pat Ryan late on when he attempted to find the net. Doon lost key defender Richie English to injury late on and with Conor Sheahan driving Ballygunner on from midfield, they registered the vital scores from Mahony, Hutchinson, and Fitzgerald to advance.
Tipperary’s Loughmore-Castleiney await in the semi-final on 17 November.
Scorers for Ballygunner: Pauric Mahony 0-11 (0-9f), Dessie Hutchinson 0-6, Patrick Fitzgerald 0-4, Mikey Mahony 0-2, Conor Sheahan 0-2.
Scorers for Doon: Adam English 0-10 (0-8f, 0-1 ’65), Chris Thomas 0-4, Pat Ryan 0-2, Darragh O’Donovan 0-1, Eddie Stokes 0-1, Cian O’Donovan 0-1, Jack Ryan 0-1.
Ballygunner
1. Stephen O’Keeffe
2. Ian Kenny, 3. Barry Coughlan, 4. Tadhg Foley
21. Harry Ruddle, 6. Philip Mahony, 7. Ronan Power
8. Conoor Sheahan (joint captain), 9. Paddy Leavey
12. Peter Hogan, 11. Pauric Mahony (joint captain), 15. Mikey Mahony
10. Dessie Hutchinson, 14. Kevin Mahony, 13. Patrick Fitzgerald
Subs
19. Cormac Power for Kevin Mahony (55)
5. Shane O’Sullivan for Mikey Mahony (62)
Doon
1. Tomás Lynch
2. Eoin Fitzgibbon, 3. Tommy Hayes, 4. Cian O’Donovan
18. Cormac Ryan
5. Chris Thomas, 6. Barry Murphy, 7. Richie English
8. Darragh O’Donovan (captain), 11. Adam English
13. Jack Ryan, 12. Eddie Stokes, 9. Pat Ryan
14. Kevin Maher, 15. Darragh Stapleton
Subs
20. Mikey O’Brien for Stapleton (43)
10. Gareth Thomas for Maher (43)
19. Patrick Cummins for Richie English (inj) (53)
Referee: Michael Kennedy (Tipperary)
Brilliant game of hurling. Serious commitment from both teams.Thoroughly enjoyable as a neutral.Congrats to all involved.
Fantastic match, well done Gunners, Stephen O’Keeffe out of this world!
That’s hurling in it’s most sophisticated sense….it can be really enjoyable if both teams buy in to it and the Ref is sensible
Pity for Doon as first time champs that LCB didn’t play their championship off in good time thereby allowing their county champions a two week break. Understanbly Doon completely ran out of steam in the last 15 minutes.
Season over since July and here these poor lads still hurling and training deep into Nov…. crazy stuff
@sean bourke: *Inter County season Seanie
@sean bourke: if some people get their way the inter county will be extended and the poor clubs will be pushed back into December like previous years