Buggy dethrones Lynch in high tempo Over 35 Singles clash in Wexford

Gavin Buggy produced a totally committed performance at St. Mary’s Wexford today to oust defending champion Dominick Lynch, Kerry 21-18, 21-13 in the All Ireland 60×30 Over 35 A Singles semi final and so gain a measure of ‘revenge’ for defeat to the same player in both the 2014 and 2015 All Ireland finals.

In a fiercely contested encounter Buggy survived a real scare in the opening game when, after dominating the exchanges  and building a sizable lead, he hit the dreaded ‘wall’ and practically fell over the finish line as Lynch staged a terrific fightback which took him within reach of a first game victory that had never looked likely.

As the second got underway the general consensus was that while the hat-trick seeking Kerryman had lost that opening game, the momentum was definitely with him, but Buggy resisted immediately and the battle resumed in earnest. The Wexford town player was again displaying remarkable powers of recovery as he ran down everything Lynch threw at him and taking whatever chances came his way he carved out a 9-4 lead. By contrast, just as in the early stages of the first game, Lynch was again finding it difficult to score points and unless it was a roll out Buggy ‘picked’ it and sometimes re-killed it to great effect. It was all very frustrating for the defending champion and not surprisingly it was his energy and his resolve that eventually wilted in the face of such pressure.

In the end Buggy closed it out at 21-13 and under the circumstances he can look back on a performance that was amongst the best he has ever produced in the 60×30 court. His will to win shone like a beacon throughout and in the final analysis anything less against a brilliant champion would not have been enough.

Buggy now meets old rival Vinny Moran, Mayo in the final and if he can reproduce this form one more time then a title he last won in 2013 will be his once more.