Relentless Ballygunner mow down Kilmallock to reach another Munster final

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Ballygunner had already buried Kilmallock once when the Limerick champions somehow brought the deficit from seven points down to one. The tide was dithering, Kilmallock’s blood…

Just once in a while it looks like the linear narrative might have a kink. Ballygunner had already buried Kilmallock once when the Limerick champions somehow brought the deficit from seven points down to one. The tide was dithering, Kilmallock’s blood was up, and suddenly there was a menu of possible outcomes.

And then the multiple-choice disappeared. In the 10 minutes that remained, the All-Ireland champions scored eight points without reply and if it wasn’t for an astonishing double save from Conor Hanley Clarke in the Kilmallock goal, the final margin would have been in double figures. There was no twist; it was just a tease.

In a fortnight, Ballygunner will contest their ninth Munster final in a row. For three of their players – Stephen O’Keeffe and the Mahony brothers, Philip and Pauric – it will be 17 years since they contested their first. The skin of the team has changed over the years, but all of its vital organs and trains of thought are the same. Ballygunner have no secrets from the opposition, and yet, the transparency makes no odds.

This year, though, the internal challenge was different. The lunacy of the Waterford championship being completed before children go back to school left Ballygunner with an 11-week gap before their first outing in the Munster Championship. Over the years, they had mastered eight and nine-week gaps, but this required a re-boot of a different magnitude.

“Overall, today was about putting in a good enough performance to win the game, so we achieved that,” said Ballygunner manager Jason Ryan. “But the 11-week gap is nightmarish, getting fellas right and ready and everything. It’s a whole preseason. You’re starting all over again, so it’s massive. I think the 11 weeks is longer than what the whole Waterford championship was.”

Even with climate change and good-to-firm going at Cheltenham over the weekend, there is no avoiding winter hurling in the middle of November.

The spluttering pace of play suited Kilmallock’s plan to meet…

In the…

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