Portumna must switch off from club final nonsense

Inside Track with John McIntyre

The biggest problem facing the Portumna camp in the build up to next month’s All-Ireland Club final is all the experts who will be preaching to them that a fourth Croke Park triumph on St. Patrick’s Day is now a formality given that they only have to beat a team from the minnow hurling county of Carlow.

It will make for a difficult environment for Portumna to hone their preparations for the clash with the championship’s surprise packets, Mount Leinster Rangers, but at least Francis Canning’s squad have already had their cards marked in relation to the qualities of the giant-killers from Carlow. They will simply have to ignore all this loose talk and make sure nobody in their dressing room jumps the gun.

Portumna know that Mount Leinster Rangers represent really dangerous foes and have reached the final strictly on merit. Having deservedly overcame Ballyboden and Oulart-The-Ballagh on their way to an historic Leinster title, the Carlow title holders continued their mould-breaking feats with a deserved semi-final triumph over Loughgiel of Antrim in Newry last Saturday.

They may have had only one point to spare at the finish, but Mount Leinster Rangers withstood the concession of two second-half goals against the run of play and never blinked when Loughgiel drew level after trailing by 0-10 to 0-6 at half-time. With a top forward in Denis Murphy and quality defenders in the likes of Diarmuid Byrne and Richard Coady, together with a fanatical desire, the Carlow champions will certainly be obdurate opponents in Croke Park.

Though Portumna were favourites to come through their semi-final last Saturday evening, few would have been surprised if Ollie Canning and company didn’t have the legs or vigour to stay with a highly regarded Na Piarsaigh outfit for 60 minutes. In fact, the game was virtually decided in the opening minutes as Portumna grabbed a priceless goal and a point despite facing the forceful wind and rain.

Teenager Ronan O’Meara was the architect of Portumna’s dream start and he had 1-2 on the board before Na Piarsaigh had even settled into the contest. All over the field, the Galway title holders’ greater experience was plain to see. They have been here many times before and know what the job is all about. Furthermore, Portumna have improved from their county championship campaign and the ultimate four point winning margin hardly flattered them.

Sure, they got a timely break when Kevin Downes’ screamer crashed off the post in the first minute, but over the hour they were unquestionably the more convincing team. Portumna used the ball more intelligently and were generally much sharper in their hurling. It was also a terrific team display in front of a paltry attendance of less than 2,000.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.