Ballygunner skipper Barry Coughlan lifts the Under 21 trophy under the watchful guise of County Chairman Tom Cunningham and Glanbia's Kieran O'Connor. | Photos: www.MichaelKiely.com
Ballygunner 2-18; Dungarvan 1-11
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Ballygunner retained the Under-21 county hurling title when they once again they got the better of a plucky Dungarvan side at Fraher Field on Saturday last.
Hurling matches are won and lost in the blink of an eye and that certainly proved the case in terms of this particular decider.
In the 20th minute, with the game tied at four points apiece, Ballygunner goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe pulled off an incredible triple save to deny Dungarvan a certain goal.
Each one of the saves would have stood on its own as a contender for save of the season but the fact that they all came so close together astonished the large attendance.
That Ballygunner went straight up the field and goaled through Conor Power compounded matters for Dungarvan and gave Ballygunner a lead that they never relinquished.
The champions outlined their intentions straight from the throw-in and raced into an early four point lead with Conor Power and Stephen O’Keeffe grabbing good points from play and Stephen Power firing over two frees.
To their credit, Dungarvan bounced back from their bad start and were soon back on level terms, thanks to the industrious hurling of Kenny Moore and Karl Duggan and the reliability of Colm Curran from placed balls.
Then came O’Keeffe’s wonderful goalkeeping cameo and Power’s goal which completely changed the flow of the game back in Ballygunner’s favour.
Points from Philip Duggan, Gary Bambrick and Pauric Mahony put Ballygunner further in front before a brace from Stephen Power put Ballygunner in front by 1-9 to 0-4 at the break.
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