Double bill at Kenny Park

Date Published: 04-Oct-2007

WITH the ‘superpowers’ in one semi-final and a novel pairing in the other, the penultimate stage of the senior hurling championship has thrown up one of the most mouthwatering doubleheaders in Galway club hurling in years.

A huge crowd is expected at Kenny Park,Athenry, on Sunday to see whether the local side can thwart Portumna’s efforts to reach their fifth consecutive county final, after Kinvara and Castlegar aim to create a bit of history of their own.

Undoubtedly, the clash of Portumna and Athenry should set pulses racing as, between them, these clubs have won seven of the last nine county titles.

Portumna remain the team to beat, having annexed two of the last four titles (2003 and 2005) and, intriguingly it was a battling Athenry side who denied them ultimate glory in the 2004 final.

Supporters should get to Kenny Park early, as the opening tie between Kinvara and Castlegar could be a real ‘hum dinger’ of an affair. Both of these sides may be lacking in fire-power, but they boast two of the meanest defences in Galway hurling and Kinvara have been the surprise packets of ’07 after flirting with relegation last summer.

For detailed previews of each game read this week’s Tribune…..