Canning gets all clear

Date Published: 21-Feb-2008

IT’S time to close the deal. Nobody could touch Portumna in the Galway championship over the past year and, on Sunday, a desire to return to Croke Park should see them overcome new Tipperary champions Loughmore- Castleiney in what has the makings of a hard-fought All-Ireland semi-final.

Their experience at this level has ensured that the 2006 All- Ireland champions will commence battle at the Limerick Gaelic Grounds (2 p.m.) as firm 1/3 favourites against a side (14/5) who almost came out of nowhere in 2007.

But Portumna cannot afford to underestimate the mid-Tipperary club, who relish the role of underdogs and have come through a tough Munster championship campaign since winning their first county title in 19 years.

Whereas Portumna have only had to deal with the negligible threat of Ballina — in terms of championship hurling — since regaining the county title, Loughmore-Castleiney have managed to overcome the Cork, Limerick, and Clare champions.

No resting on their laurels for a small, rural dual club who could have been forgiven for over-celebrating their second county title, and first since 1988, over the winter months. With 14 club senior footballers in their ranks, they know how to battle in the winter mud. They also have a neat blend of youth and experience.

Both Paul Ormonde and David Kennedy won All-Ireland medals with Tipperary in 2001, while Noel McGrath is the county’s bright young teenage star. The youthful wing forward will be going for his third All- Ireland minor medal in a row later in the year, while towering full-forward Micheal Webster is the fulcrum of their attack.

In terms of their blend, age profile, and experience, they are eerily similar to the Portumna side who swept aside all before them two years ago. Back then, Joe Canning was the new kid on the block while brother Ollie Canning and Damien Hayes brought considerable inter-county experience into the mix.

Portumna had fresh worries about young Canning’s hamstring injury, but the teenager underwent intensive physiotherapy — and cryotherapy — in Wexford last weekend to ensure he will be able to start at full-forward on Sunday.

This is the border club’s first genuine competitive tussle since their stunning 6-12 to 0-11 victory over Kinvara in the Galway county final back in October.

It was ………