Portumna dig deep as Gort let big lead slip

Portumna 0-21

Gort  0-17

A final quarter surge, in which Portumna outscored Gort by 10 points to two, saw Joe Keane’s outfit come from behind to claim the spoils – and the group points – in this entertaining senior hurling championship clash at Kenny Park, Athenry last Saturday.

When Gort took a 0-15 to 0-11 lead with just 15 minutes to play, it appeared as if Portumna were about to be consigned to their second consecutive defeat having lost their championship opener to Sarsfields a fortnight earlier.

However, Gort failed to turn the screw on their opponents at this juncture and, instead, Portumna dug deep into their energy reserves to breathe new life into their game and they began to dominate every area of the field for the remainder.

Joe Canning, finishing with 12 points, four from play, was central to a great deal of Portumna’s endeavours throughout but, on this occasion, it was Ronan O’Meara who thrilled spectators with eight glorious points from play – four in each half.

Three of these he shot in the final 15 minutes as Portumna really ramped it up on their opponents. Canning – free and play – lit the fuse with two scores midway through the half and while Gort’s Aiden Helebert would reply by converting a placed ball, Portumna then hit seven unanswered points to take the lead.

Again, Canning – two from frees and two from play – was very much involved and with O’Meara tallying his three efforts in this time, much to the delight and adulation of the Portumna faithful, Portumna were home and hosed.

Late on, Helebert and Kevin Hayes exchanged points, but Portumna had already wrapped this one up. It truly was a remarkable turnaround given the manner in which they looked to be fading in the third quarter.

They had led at half-time 0-8 to 0-7 and extended this advantage when Canning picked off another point within 15 seconds of the restart. However, it was then Gort began to open up as Keith Killilea drew a smart save from Portumna’s Joe Keane. Greg Lally converted the resulting 65.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.