Old Master, Young Maestro: Ballygunner's Fergal Hartley and Lismore's Maurice Shanahan at close quarters. | Photos: Michael Kiely
Ballygunner 4-12; Lismore 2-18
If ever there was a fitting finish to a county senior hurling final it was summoned on Sunday last when Paul Flynn pointed a free in stoppage time to earn Ballygunner a deserved draw against Lismore, with the teams destined to do battle all over again at the same venue this Saturday afternoon (4pm) when it’s hoped the spectacle will be no less absorbing.
Having been 10 points up at one stage, much thanks to the outstanding Maurice Shanahan, Lismore – seeking their first title since 1993 – are bound to be a little upset that victory did not go their way, having never been behind.
But at the same time the men from the west will be relieved that they lived to fight another day having shipped four goals to a Paul Flynn-inspired Gunners side.
The Blackwater boys had a tonic start when Dan Shanahan pointed after just 20 seconds and little less then three minutes later they’d a goal scored. After only 10 minutes they were six points to the good (1-5 to 0-2) – a lead they held at the break.
However the departure of full-back James ‘Joxer’ O’Connor just past the 10-minute mark of the second half was to be the turning point in the game as Flynn, who was playing well enough up to that stage, really turned on the style in the last third of the match, and in the finish his scoring and creative contribution was a telling factor.
See The Munster Express newspaper for full story and photos.
