GAA
Portumna power on
Portumna 1-15
Na Piarsaigh 1-11
PORTUMNA’S proven package of big-day experience and inherent quality propelled the Galway champions to a remarkable fifth All-Ireland Club hurling final in nine years in much more comfortable fashion than many neutrals had anticipated in wretched conditions at Semple Stadium last Saturday evening.
A miserly crowd of 1,820 underlined the madness of the GAA’s decision to schedule this attractive fixture for a floodlit setting in early February, but those perished punters who turned up in Thurles were given a sharp reminder of the talents which had stamped Portumna as a class apart from all challengers when in their prime.
The triple All-Ireland champions may have lacked the swashbuckling flamboyance of a few years ago in dismissing the ultimately disappointing and disjointed efforts of the Limerick title holders, but they executed the basics with an economy which simply had to be admired in really hostile conditions.
Portumna hardly wasted possession all evening, with their team-work, link up play and superior craft proving far too potent a cocktail for a Na Piarsaigh outfit which were always playing catch up after a dreadful start. It didn’t help their cause either that key players such as James O’Brien and Shane Dowling never got to the pitch of the battle.
We had worried that Portumna would struggle to match the hunger and energy of Sean Stack’s troops, but those fears were utterly groundless in the end. The Galway men know what fixtures at this level are all about and though Na Piarsaigh are hardly novices any longer – appearing in their second semi-final in three years – they were made to look like them.
There may have been only four points dividing the teams at the finish, but the scoreboard hardly reflected Portumna’s overall authority as a terrific team performance was peppered with a string of outstanding individual displays. They had done the donkey work in the opening-half when facing the driving rain and wind.
As usual, the team’s old guard used all of their cunning and class to punch big holes in Na Piarsaigh’s challenge, but Saturday evening also saw some of the pressure being relieved from their shoulders as two relative newcomers at opposite ends of the field came of age with significant contributions.
In defence, young Conor O’Hare was in tremendous fettle, rising to the demands of the occasion in great style while his measured clearances typified Portumna’s heads-up hurling. Up front, county minor Ronan O’Meara exploded on the big stage and within 12 minutes had an invaluable goal and two points to his credit.
For more, read this week’s Connacht Tribune.
THE Rebels are on the march and have a clean sweep of the senior, U20 and minor All-Ireland hurling titles in their sights – but Galway U20s have the opportunity of stopping resurgent Cork’s treble quest in the first of those deciders at Semple Stadium on Tuesday (7.30pm).
Jeffrey Lynskey’s charges gained revenge on Dublin in the recent Leinster Final and will be seeking the county’s first title at this level since 2011.
Galway are the outsiders to carry the day, but will be looking to the likes of team captain Seán Neary, Ian McGlynn, Seán McDonagh, Donal O’Shea, Oisín Flannery and John Cooney to lead the way.
Meanwhile, the county minors will also set up an All-Ireland Final against Cork if they ovecome Kilkenny in tomorrow evening’s (Friday, 7.30pm) semi-final in Thurles.
See full previews in Tribune Sport, part of 18 pages of coverage in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now – or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie
Corofin 7-17
Oughterard 0-11
IS there anything to be said for splitting Corofin in two? We jest, of course, but the Dublin-like dominance of the North Galway club on the local scene in the past decade shows no sign of abating.
A new championship, a new-look team, but the same old classy Corofin who were in seventh heaven after bagging a record seven goals in their 27-points victory over hapless Oughterard.
That Kevin O’Brien could spring dual county star, Daithi Burke, and Galway senior footballer Ian Burke, as second-half substitutes when the game was over as a contest, highlights the embarrassment of riches in the Corofin camp.
Nine of Corofin’s starters were on the starting 15 that won an historic three-in-a-row of All-Ireland titles in January, but the introduction of former Galway minor Matthew Cooley, who scored a goal off the bench on his senior club debut, highlighted, too, how they have young talent coming through.
Leaving aside the lack of resistance, particularly in the second half, the ruthless manner in which Corofin annihilated their Connemara opponents was frightening for all other pretenders to the throne.
As warnings go, this was savage, as Corofin signalled their intent about securing an eighth successive county title, with a clinical brushing aside of an Oughterard outfit whose heads-dropped early. Corofin had 11 different scorers, including seven goal scorers; all bar one of their 17 points, were from play.
Darragh Silke who finished with 1-7, ran riot in the second half, and was the game’s best performer, and Micheál Lundy (1-3) proved a handful on the inside line, but Corofin had quality dotted all over the field, and in truth, won without clicking into high gear.
If things went their way in the opening half, Oughterard’s spirits might not have been drained so soon, but they failed to convert the chances they had.
That was the big difference in the first half-hour: Corofin converted 10 out of 10 scoring opportunities that presented themselves, whereas Oughterard hit five wides, including two shots that should at the very least have troubled goalkeeper Bernard Power.
For Oughterard, this will cut deep. The 2019 All-Ireland intermediate winners were unbeaten in championship last season but got a rude awakening on their re-introduction to senior. Their first championship match back in senior in nearly 20 years, and they’re annihilated. To add to the embarrassment, it was televised live on TG4 for all to see.
It was effectively over at half-time, but it shouldn’t have been. Oughterard had enough of the play, and enough chances, to be still in with a shout at the change of ends and they just failed to punish their more ruthless opponents.
Full report in this week’s Connacht Tribune.
GALWAY minor football manager Dónal Ó Fátharta has praised his young charges for the manner in which they responded to their Connacht final defeat to Mayo.
Ó Fátharta’s squad turned on the style when taking down Leinster champions Kildare in their All-Ireland quarter-final at Pearse Park, Longford last weekend to set up a semi-final meeting against a Kerry outfit chasing an incredible six-in-a-row of titles at this grade.
However, the Galway manager admitted he was concerned initially as to how his players would respond to the provincial final loss to Mayo. “After the Connacht final, the guys were down. We gave them a week off, which we were going to do anyways. When they came back in for our meeting and the usual stuff, I was worried, but, after that meeting, I wasn’t worried. I was hopeful.
“For the last two weeks, they have worked hard. We played Dublin in a challenge and it was one of those games of 30 minutes, 20 minutes, 30 minutes. We were very sharp that night. That reinforced it for me that there was a performance in these guys. The next challenge is a game in Croke Park, which is another step up, but I am delighted that they are there and they have that opportunity.”
Indeed, Ó Fátharta described his players’ display against Kildare as “a complete performance”, noting: “Structurally, I think we were very good. I think we took our chances, and we did everything that we talk about doing every day. They took their chances when they had to; they worked hard; they put in shifts, and all that sort of stuff. So, we are delighted with the performance.”
See full report and reaction in Connacht Tribune Sport.
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