Canning’s harsh sending off pulls the plug on Portumna’s challenge

Inside Track with John McIntyre

THERE’S no prize for guessing what was the biggest talking point from the opening round of the Galway senior hurling championship last weekend – the dismissal of the Cannings, Joe and his nephew Jack, for Portumna against Sarsfields at Kenny Park.

A red card for such a high-profile player nearly always generates widespread publicity, but with the match also having a deferred showing on TG4, hardly anyone with GAA marrow in their bones would have been unaware of Portumna’s strife on Sunday evening.

The outcome was still in the melting pot with about ten minutes remaining. Sarsfields were protecting a three-point lead, but were by no means out the gap against a new-look Portumna outfit. Sure, Canning, his brother Ivan, Andy Smith, Ronan O’Meara and Martin Dolphin were still around, but a lot of their team-mates were novices at this level.

Still, Portumna were hanging in there with O’Meara having set the tempo for them with a string of quality efforts from play early in the game. Sarsfields were struggling to shrug off Portumna despite Kevin Cooney and Jeffrey Lawless doing most of the scoring damage.

But this senior A group battle was completely turned on its head in little more than 60 seconds. Firstly, Joe Canning got his marching orders after a tussle with former inter-county colleague Kevin Hynes, while Jack also suffered the same fate after interfering with Ian Skehill’s helmet.

Even Portumna people are prepared to accept that Jack Canning gave referee Shane Hynes little option, but there is understandable anger in the camp over Joe being banished to the sideline. TV evidence shows Hynes’ helmet coming off as he exchanged pleasantries with Canning on the ground, but it appeared accidental.

Canning was leaning on Hynes when the helmet was displaced, but he didn’t interfere with it. In the circumstances, he shouldn’t have got the line but you would still have some sympathy for referee Hynes and his officials as they didn’t have a close-up view, only seeing the Sarsfields player’s headguard being sent flying.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.

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