Ballygunner 1-20

Loughrea 1-14

SOMETIMES, you just have to tip your hat to the better team. Loughrea can dissect and analyse Sunday’s All-Ireland Club Senior Hurling Final to death, but the bottom line is that they were second-best at Croke Park.

The Galway champions weren’t quite as good as we hoped and Ballygunner were better. Therein lies the tale of an eagerly-anticipated match which disappointingly fizzled out in the second-half after the outcome hung in the balance at the interval.

Over the past two seasons, Loughrea have been a credit to Galway hurling, but they had never before encountered opponents of the calibre, cohesion and experience of the Waterford team. Sunday proved a steep rise in class, and Tommy Kelly’s charges ultimately weren’t able to handle it.

There is no shame in that as Ballygunner have been laying waste to all challengers at county, provincial, and All-Ireland level over the past six months. They were men on a mission too, having been tagged as under-achievers for not capturing more than one All-Ireland title.

That shadow no longer hangs over them after significantly upping the ante on the resumption on Sunday. Arguably fortunate to be ahead at the interval (0-12 to 1-8), Ballygunner gradually imposed their will on the exchanges, and once Michael Mahony netted in the 35th minute, there was a sense of inevitability about the result.

Loughrea never gave up, but their forward line struggled to create the necessary openings against an opposition defence which effectively retreated in numbers almost every time their posts were threatened. Only managing six points in the second-half, Ian Hanrahan and company couldn’t establish the necessary fluency or momentum.

Of course, Loughrea will have regrets. Eight opening-half wides undermined their cause; while goal attempts from Anthony Burns and Vince Morgan – a particularly ambitious effort – were never likely to beat a keeper of Stephen O’Keeffe’s calibre.

For all that, Loughrea were still bang in the contest at half-time although Ballygunner might have had a goal or two of their own – Patrick Fitzgerald dropped a pass with the net at his mercy early on; while Peter Hogan saw his effort whizz off the crossbar for a point in the 27th minute.

The only green flag of the first-half came from almost out of nothing. Ian Hanrahan performed a great turnover on Michael Mahony, and from Joe Mooney’s delivery, Darren Shaughnessy ghosted in behind the Ballygunner cover to expertly flick the sliotar to the net four minutes from the break.

It was the only time Loughrea would lead in the final. The first-half exchanges in front of an attendance of over 25,000 for Sunday’s double bill were of a high tempo and standard, and Loughrea were holding their own despite an uneasy opening.

In a clearly pre-planned move, Shane Morgan picked up Dessie Hutchinson from the throw-in which resulted in regular full back Johnny Coen moving out to the half-line. And with the Ballygunner forwards constantly rotating, the Loughrea rearguard as a unit were a little out of the comfort zone.

Pictured: Jamie Ryan of Loughrea is challenged by Ballygunner’s Philip Mahony during the All-Ireland Club Senior Hurling Final at Croke Park on Sunday. Photo: Seb Daly/Sportsfile.