THE BALLYHALE REACTION at the final whistle told its own story.
Glee and retribution exhumed out of every Shamrocks player, mentor and supporter in unified celebration of their defeat of Ballygunner on Sunday evening.
Avenging the dramatic February All-Ireland final loss was one thing, while also reaching an staggering eleventh All-Ireland final in the club’s 50th year was another.
While the World Cup final rumbled to a dramatic close. Under the Hogan Stand, Ballyhale manager Pat Hoban felt his side also silenced a lot of critics in their sweet victory.
“There was a lot of questions about this team,” he said afterwards.
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“A lot of people felt maybe they weren’t at the level, they were slipping, felt that we hadn’t the panel, felt we hadn’t the fitness. And I think today, we had two guys off after 15 minutes, we proved we have a panel, we proved we have subs and we proved we are good enough to be in an All-Ireland final.”
Ballyhale manager Pat Hoban. Morgan Treacy / INPHO
Morgan Treacy / INPHO / INPHO
Despite opposition goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe pulling off stunning save after save, Hoban in his first season at the helm, was not worried. The opportunities, instead, provided Hoban the tactical blueprint for the second half.
“No, the very fact we were creating chances like that (was not worrying).
“At half-time we said, ‘Look, we can run at these, we can take them on’. Everybody said, ‘Run at Ballyhale and they’re in bother’. I think we turned the tide today.”
“I give Stephen O’Keeffe fantastic praise for the saves he pulled off. We were very conscious of it. The guys got in, kept the ball low, didn’t matter, he pulled off great saves.”
“They made it scary. Three points in the last plays you might have heard me shouting “Remember February!” it was a bit like that, you are always fearful that something might just go wrong.”
With TJ Reid in his side, Hoban had little to worry about.
Overcoming a penalty miss to score one minutes later was vital but with the minutes whittling down, the Kilkenny star roamed deeper out the field to relieve the pressure on his side.
“On the biggest days you need TJ to stand up and again he did,” Hoban finished.
“After missing the penalty he showed absolute belief and ability to stick the next one. He is an orchestrator of all teams he is involved in.”
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'There was a lot of questions about this team' - Ballyhale power on to reach All-Ireland final
THE BALLYHALE REACTION at the final whistle told its own story.
Glee and retribution exhumed out of every Shamrocks player, mentor and supporter in unified celebration of their defeat of Ballygunner on Sunday evening.
Avenging the dramatic February All-Ireland final loss was one thing, while also reaching an staggering eleventh All-Ireland final in the club’s 50th year was another.
While the World Cup final rumbled to a dramatic close. Under the Hogan Stand, Ballyhale manager Pat Hoban felt his side also silenced a lot of critics in their sweet victory.
“There was a lot of questions about this team,” he said afterwards.
“A lot of people felt maybe they weren’t at the level, they were slipping, felt that we hadn’t the panel, felt we hadn’t the fitness. And I think today, we had two guys off after 15 minutes, we proved we have a panel, we proved we have subs and we proved we are good enough to be in an All-Ireland final.”
Despite opposition goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe pulling off stunning save after save, Hoban in his first season at the helm, was not worried. The opportunities, instead, provided Hoban the tactical blueprint for the second half.
“No, the very fact we were creating chances like that (was not worrying).
“At half-time we said, ‘Look, we can run at these, we can take them on’. Everybody said, ‘Run at Ballyhale and they’re in bother’. I think we turned the tide today.”
“I give Stephen O’Keeffe fantastic praise for the saves he pulled off. We were very conscious of it. The guys got in, kept the ball low, didn’t matter, he pulled off great saves.”
“They made it scary. Three points in the last plays you might have heard me shouting “Remember February!” it was a bit like that, you are always fearful that something might just go wrong.”
With TJ Reid in his side, Hoban had little to worry about.
Overcoming a penalty miss to score one minutes later was vital but with the minutes whittling down, the Kilkenny star roamed deeper out the field to relieve the pressure on his side.
“On the biggest days you need TJ to stand up and again he did,” Hoban finished.
“After missing the penalty he showed absolute belief and ability to stick the next one. He is an orchestrator of all teams he is involved in.”
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Ballyhale Final bound GAA Hurling Kilkenny