Gaultier's Conor O'Riordan holds on tight under pressure from Ballinacourty's Martin Lavin.
Ballinacourty 1-15; Gaultier 0-10
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Ballinacourty are through to the county senior football final for the third time in four years after beating a gallant Gaultier side in Walsh Park last Saturday.
Although, they did not get off to the best of starts, Ballinacourty eventually clicked into top gear and in the end, they proved too strong for the men from the east.
Despite conceding the first point of the game to Mark Ferncombe, Gaultier started the game very brightly. With Willie Walsh pulling the strings in midfield and boosted by a strong breeze, the Barony men swept forward.
Two points in a row from the imperious Walsh had Gaultier in front by the fifth minute and by the time, wing-back, Ray Hearne soloed forward to score in the 6th minute, the barony men were two points in the clear.
At this stage, Gaultier could do no wrong as epitomised by a sweetly struck JJ Hutchinson free in the eighth minute.
Ballinacourty attacks were few and far between in the opening period but when they did manage to get forward, it was normally to good effect. Patrick Hurney broke through in the ninth minute to fist a point when a goal may have been on.
Then, Gaultier were dealt what was to prove a fatal blow to their chances. Influential centre-forward, Rory Walsh pulled up with a groin injury and in came Brad Carroll.
The substitution necessitated a complete reshuffle of the Gaultier pack, the net result of which Willie Walsh was moved from midfield where he was having a major influence.
Gaultier did manage to tag on two well-struck points through big full-forward Conor O’Riordan to leave them 0-6 to 0-2 in front by the 17th minute, but then they lost their way slightly.
Richie Foley charged upfield to score for Ballinacourty and he followed this up with a similar foray which yielded a second point for Patrick Hurney.
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