GAELIC GAMES: SOMETIMES WHEN a big bonfire gets stacked up before a match, it never quite ignites, but yesterday in Thurles the clubs which have won the past three All-Ireland titles produced a blazing afternoon's hurling.
Portumna, in the strange position of being both champions and outsiders, applied their strengths of pace, individual virtuosity and sheer industry to run out unexpectedly comprehensive winners over Kilkenny’s Ballyhale Shamrocks, 5-11 to 1-16.
They now face Waterford’s De La Salle in the final after the Munster champions’ epic, extra-time win over Cushendall from Antrim, 1-21 to 1-19.
As the sun began to dim on a fine spring afternoon, and despite an enveloping chill, players and supporters of the Galway club stayed on the field to celebrate a terrific victory.
Joe Canning, with another prodigious display at the venue behind him, remained for over half an hour to pose for pictures and sign autographs. If he declined to pause for interview he could sustainably say he’d done his talking on the pitch with an individual tally of 2-5 which outstripped that of the only forward in the game – even at this early stage of his career – whose reputation overshadows his, Henry Shefflin.
“We concentrated for the last two or three weeks on getting a good start,” said winning manager Johnny Kelly. “It’s something that we haven’t been doing really in challenge games, and we focused completely on the first 10 or 15 minutes. I suppose everyone was contemplating a huge display, a good classic encounter, but we just focused on our own game, really.
“We couldn’t worry too much about Ballyhale. I’d be telling lies if we said that we didn’t study them in depth and have a look at the way they play the game, but we know we have serious pace and we’ve got talented hurlers, so we’ll endeavour to make that pay again.
“But we won’t get carried away, it’s an All-Ireland semi-final, we’ve another step to take to retain the title and whoever we meet it’s going to be difficult itself because these days don’t come around that often. Take it for what it is, an All-Ireland semi-final.”
Asked had the 2-2 in six minutes been his dream start, Kelly replied intriguingly: “You’d be surprised about what I dream of!
“We have players for different courses. We have certain guys, say the Smiths are outstanding men, they’re great work horses, the likes of Niall Hayes; and then we have clinical finishers. Work ethic is great. We aim to keep it up.”
Corner forward Damien Hayes returned from a break in Australia with the makings of a now bushy beard and in time for preparations for this match. He conjured 2-1 of the 5-11 total, 5-6 of which came from the full forward line of himself, Canning and Ciarán Ryan.
“The thing about us is, ye might have wrote that it was a showdown between two or four players, or whatever it was, but there is no ‘I’ in team and no ‘us’ in team, and we are the ultimate team and we work for each other and we are all about each other.
“For us, it was all about getting out of the traps first and we did it at the start, and at the start of the second half, and, being honest, getting out at the start of the second half was probably the winning of the game for us. But it was all about getting out of the traps fast,” said Hayes.
“The ball was a bit scarce coming in in the last 10 minutes because we were under a lot of pressure but, to be honest, we are thrilled with that performance.
“We dropped back, defended, we all harried and put in the hooks and blocks. I don’t think we had a full forward line in the last few minutes, but we held out and got the result and maybe it’s the start of something good to come for the year, you never know.”
Ballyhale manager Maurice Aylward was magnanimous about the afternoon’s events.
“I am not going to pick out any individuals because, for me, Joe Canning was not the man who beat us, it was their overall team from their goalkeeper right through. They had their homework done and they were up for the game.
“Joe is an outstanding talent, but there are other outstanding talents in that squad . . . Damien Hayes, Kevin Hayes, Ollie Canning and Eoin Lynch all had great games.
“You don’t win anything with a one-man team.”
CORK CRISIS:
The 2008 Cork hurling panel last night asked representatives of the county’s clubs to go back and vote on a motion of no confidence in Cork hurling manager, Gerald McCarthy.
