If you’re going to win it, win it by beating the kingpins. Ballyhale have to lose a final some time.
Keeper was awful there. More interested in charging it down rather than setting his feet to be able to react. Super strike, take nothing away from that, but bad defending both to concede the free and then the goal.
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The free was reasonable to give, but given to easy. The goalie though 🤷 WTF was he thinking.
He is a Galway goalkeeper. Bred into him sure.
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There was no threat of a goal from the open play. They voluntarily gave them a shot on goal rather than trying to work a chance from open play going way away from goal. Typical stupid free players give rather than standing them up and knowing they have to get a goal. Just jumped on him to concede it, never even tried defend.
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That’s what I said, too easy given, but in the circumstances, against any decent organised defence, scoring a goal from an angle like that that far out would be a very very unlikely outcome.
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Yeah quite a few lads scattered around waiting for a rebound to clear. One St Thomas’ lad almost dived out of the way on the line but you couldn’t blame him as it was struck with some power and it was a natural reaction. TJ is unbelievably clutch. 2 last minute salvage jobs in the space of 6 weeks.
Ballyhale beat St Thomas’ by 17 points in 2019 when Henry was in charge. Far different game today.
Ballyhale are very beatable this year imo
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I was surprised to hear earlier that this will be Ballygunners first time appearing in an All-Ireland final.
Only the third Waterford team to make the final. Mount Sion in 1982, De La Salle in 2009 the other two. Coincidentally the only three Waterford teams to have won a Munster club match.
They’re usually much better in Croke Park. They were on the ropes in their last 3 games outside Croke Park.
They haven’t faced an outfit like Ballygunner though, it’ll be right
But very hard bate
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As an aside, why was the Tommy’s physio wearing a mask today?
Must have been Dick Turpin.
Brian Tyers use of ‘An De Deireadh’ as Reid hit the late free was very special.
On the evidence of today you’d fancy Ballygunner in the final but each game takes on a life of its own.
Ballyhale seem to have had a very interrupted Winter. 3 weeks training should bring them on a tonne.
Wonder how badly injured Mullen x2 are. Darren in particular will be a loss.
That was the losing of the game for Slaughtneil. Done well to settle into it in 1st half after conceding 1.2 but the goal at the start of the 2nd half felt like a matchwinner.
Slaughtneils’s gameplan worked up to a point. Ballygunner played a lot of ball on top of Bradley in the 1st half, Rodgers inside had Coughlan in a lot of bother and they were winning plenty of ruck ball. But in the 2nd half after the goal, when Slaughtneil got a point or 2, Ballygunner would get a point straight from the puck out. Looked like Slaughtneil couldnt get ready for the puck outs quick enough and O’Keefe would find a Gunner man, wan on wan and a score would come.
Certainly think with Ballygunner pulling all the half forward line out that a team has to have a spare man in there to block off the space for the 2 Ballygunner inside forwards on the edge of the square but in the middle of the 2nd half that extra man out the field helped Ballygunner and they won more ruck balls.
As for Slaughtneil they are a good team. Rodgers, Brian Cassidy and Cormac O’Doherty are excellent hurlers. They are tough and never give up but that hurling sharpness that they would not have from being a dual club with inter-county footballers, compared to a Ballygunner, counts against them at this level.
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Your analysis during the week was spot on.
Slaughtneil are iconic. Big Gerard Bradley in the hooped socks and Big Jerome McGuigan in the non hooped socks really add that bit of razzmatazz that you need at this level. Cormac O’Doherty is a smashing hurler (presume thats his brother in goals?). and the McKaigue boys are as tough as old boots.
And what can you say about Big Brendan Rogers up front? Jesus he was brilliant even when outnumbered. Slaughtneil are an example to clubs up and down the country who might have more talent but I doubt anyone are as athletic as them or work harder.
It was real championship stuff. The hitting and mouthing off the ball was something else particularly in the first half. It was like Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid around 2016. I thought Sean Stack handled it as well as he could.
In the end Ballygunner had too much. Kenny was fantastic at the back and the midfield duo of Sheahan and Leavy were very good. Up top Billy O’Keefe softened @Breaking_my_balls cough and Dessie did as much as he could in spite of the blackguarding he was getting off the ball.
Some worrying things for Ballygunner would be I’m not sure Philip Mahony has really recovered from his injury and Ronan Power looked a bag of nerves at number 7. Ballyhale will target them in the final.
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I assume Levy is on the county panel. He has a serious engine