1-21 to 4-6. A hat trick of Ballygunner goals in garbage time masked the scale of the devastation that Abbeyside inflicted. They routed their opponents in the air and outmuscled them on the ground. John Gorman anchored the defence and they only conceded five scores from play. Three and half months on, Ballygunner are unrecognisable but Abbeyside have also grown in stature. These two are hitting peak performance.
The removal of the safety net brought a sense of clarity for both. Abbeyside fell at the first two obstacles and Ballygunner lost two in three. After that, there was no room to veer off track. They stayed on the straight and narrow. Abbeyside won five on the bounce and the Gunners stitched together four victories.
Following from that statement of intent on June 9, the Villagers walloped Roanmore, rose from the ashes against Dungarvan and blew away Fourmilewater in the first half. They are growing in stature with each step. Having spent five years away from the semi finals, their touch and drive is restored. Ten of the 2008 team remain and they only fell two points short that year. They failed to push on and missed out on the knockout stages in 2010 and 2011. Erratic form and slackness in the basic skills (first touch and striking) counted against them in ferociously competitive groups. They are stacked with size and strength. The towering Stephen Enright stays solid under a dropping ball and can pull off extraordinary saves. From numbers five to nine, they do the ground work. They generate an avalanche of chances (28 scoring opportunities against both Dungarvan and Fourmilewater). Up front, Gary and Patrick Hurney along with Mark Fives are hard to brush off the ball. This trio drive direct and hunt down goals. Fourteen so far. Again they are much neater than in previous seasons. Mark Gorman has stepped up as a reliable taker of placed balls. And that’s before we approach the subject of Patrick Hurney’s scoring streak. He took the team on his back in the make or break local derby and his quarter final brace put the knife into Fourmilewater. With 10-11 from play banked, can the Gunners hold him to something respectable?
After trumping De La Salle, Andy Moloney revealed that some harsh truths were spoken before facing into two must win group games in August. “The players came together five weeks ago and we weren’t happy with the first three games of the championship. We needed to lift it a bit.” The central figure to that turnaround resides at centre forward. Pauric Mahony loiters out from his designated position which allows him to either shoot from distance or measure the perfect pass. His relentless accuracy from frees has returned also. 15 points against the champions saw his 2013 total rise to 59. Every positive forward play inevitably flows through him so will Abbeyside let him roam freely like Dungarvan and De La Salle did to their cost?
In Stephen
O’Keeffe, they possess a keeper that takes great care over every single
possession. Derek McGrath emphasised his contribution to De La Salle’s
downfall. He has kept three clean sheets and only conceded four times. The half
back line of Shane Walsh, Wayne Hutchinson and Alan Kirwan also fronted up a
fortnight ago. Moloney must hope for more output from his inside line. Only two
points arrived from the front three in the quarter final. They cannot depend on
Mahony to the same degree this time around.
The defensive strategy adopted to curb the two key men will be worth watching. Abbeyside can survive if Podge is silenced but can Ballygunner keep ticking over with Mahony’s influence reduced? They will hardly bully Ballygunner like they did during the summer and Moloney will seek to stretch them more than did on that Saturday and use their speedy strikers. Both bring momentum in here. Ballygunner have chopped down the champions but at the same Abbeyside have done very little wrong since taking the scalp of Sunday’s opponents.
Semi Final Stats
Abbeyside
County titles: 0
For: 14-97
Against: 9-74
Number of scorers: 15
Top scorer: Mark Gorman 0-43
Ballygunner
County titles: 12
For: 9-100
Against: 4-89
Number of scorers: 13
Top scorer: Pauric Mahony 0-59
Betting:
Ballygunner 1/2 Draw 9/1 Abbeyside 15/8
Prediction: Abbeyside
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