Cork Hurling: Ballygunner remain benchmark in Munster but Sars battled to the end

Sarsfields’ defence of their hard-won Munster title came to an end at Walsh Park on Sunday as two opportunistic Dessie Hutchinson goals plundered in the first half left them with a mountain too high to climb.

This clash was round three of the provincial meetings between these two proud clubs, bumping into each other for the third winter in a row. Sars may have famously won the middle match, but there is no denying who were top dogs in the other two encounters.

In 2023, it was all too easy for Ballygunner, winning 2-20 to 0-9, while the 2024 fixture brought a huge shock as Sars beat Ballygunner by 3-20 to 2-19 in a classic, but the 12-in-a-row Waterford champions were out to settle a score from that day.

Scalping Ballygunner last year was a statement in itself, but since that game, Sars can say that they had become Munster champions, were runners-up in the All-Ireland club championship, and returned to the provincial arena as Cork winners.

Last year’s win came in Thurles. Winning in what is effectively Ballygunner’s back yard in Walsh Park proved to be a much more difficult task, however.

They were three down after six minutes and six points down with 7.57 on the clock after Hutchinson latched onto Ben Graham’s bat-down to fire it to the back of the net. Sars were in a huge hole already.

Ninety seconds later it looked like they were on the verge of clawing their way out of it, only for Stephen O’Keeffe to brilliantly deny Barry O’Flynn with a flying save, and when Hutchinson capitalised on a Craig Leahy mis-control to goal two minutes later, it felt as if the game was effectively over after just 11 minutes.

There was 14.15 on the clock before Colm McCarthy added Sars’ second score, and their first from play, and this would have felt all too similar to their All-Ireland final defeat to Na Fianna for the Sars men in the manner in which the game got away from them early on.

Pauric O’Mahony kept chipping away with points from dead balls as well to ensure the gap was going the wrong way, and ultimately it was another long day for Sars.

The Ballygunner formula was a simple one. They withdrew their half-forward line back into their own half and asked a question of Sars, of whether they were good enough to play their way through a wall of red and black defenders.

Invariably, the answer was no. And when Ballygunner moved the ball up the pitch using their slick stick work, they tended to have ample space and time to work shooting positions for their quality attackers. 

Daniel Hogan scored the hurling equivalent of a Matt Le Tissier-style goal before the break to put a better gloss on the scoreboard. 

It spoke volumes that Sars had to score a wonder goal, whereas both Ballygunner goals came so easily.

PEP

Going in only eight down at half-time was a result for Sarsfields after they bagged the last 1-2 of the half. Indeed, it was a bizarre sight to see a side so far down running into the dressing room with a pep in their step.

Sars managed to cut the deficit from 14 to five early in the second half, through another Hogan goal, and the unlikeliest of comebacks was suddenly on, but a classy Patrick Fitzgerald goal soon afterwards was a dagger in the heart of any potential comeback.

While they never threatened to win this game, at least Sars will have travelled west on Sunday evening knowing they hadn’t thrown in the towel, but they would have travelled east on Sunday morning hoping for more than just being commended for their fighting spirit.

Ultimately, those two soft goals they conceded in the first half just left them with too much to do.

On Saturday, Cork’s footballing kingpins St Finbarr’s fared better as they saw off Clonmel Commercials in Clonmel with a brilliant late surge to reach the last four stage in Munster.

Trailing by a point late on, they rattled off four points in a row from Steven Sherlock, with a trademark two-pointer, Cillian Myers-Murray, and the livewire William Buckley to get over the line and they will now fancy their chances in the semi-final against Éire Óg of Ennis next week.