In-form Canning turns up the heat on spirited Kinvara

By STEPHEN GLENNON IN LOUGHREA

Portumna 2-17
Kinvara 0-12

TWO second half goals from Portumna’s Joe Canning helped to put pay to any notion of a spirited Kinvara causing an upset in this first round senior hurling championship opener in windy Loughrea on Sunday.

Having elected to play with the stiff wind in the opening period, Kinvara led for most of the first half and would have done so at the break had Portumna not produced a late rally in which they tallied four unanswered points through Ronan O’Meara and Canning (two frees and play).

Kinvara received a further setback in the opening minute of the second period when Canning pounced on a clearance from man of the match Martin Dolphin and, breaking through the cover, he struck a powerful effort beyond his Galway inter-county colleague, Colm Callanan.

Canning added his second goal less than 10 minutes later. This time he was supplied by an O’Meara cross-field ball and, with only one intention in mind, the Galway star rifled home another bullet to establish a 2-11 to 0-8 lead.

You would have thought the floodgates, by and large, would have opened up thereafter but, credit to Ollie Bergin’s side, they rallied through three unanswered Conor Kavanagh frees and with just 12 minutes remaining, there was just those two Canning goals between the sides.

However, as they had done on a couple of occasions already in the contest, Portumna shifted up through the gears once again and in the closing stages they outscored their opponents by six points to one.

Canning shot three of those – two frees and play – while Niall Hayes, Damien Hayes and Andy Smith (free) provided the rest.

For Kinvara, a Kavanagh free was their sole riposte although custodian Colm Callanan could have netted a goal from a 20 metre free had his opposite number Joe Keane not been alive to his strike on 54 minutes. Keane was again called into action late on when denying young Conor Whelan.

Indeed, Kinvara had their chances – maybe not enough to secure victory – but their propensity to seek out goals late on, in addition to a first half wides tally of eight (10 overall), cost them putting more scores on the board.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.