Below par Portumna come unstuck in Croke Park

IT couldn’t last forever, but the Portumna hurlers will be bitterly disappointed that their long unbeaten championship run unceremoniously ground to a halt at Croke Park on St. Patrick’s Day. Given the manner in which the final evolved, the reigning champions can have no complaints with the result, but it will torment players and mentors alike that they were significantly below their best.

Amid some pre-match concerns that Portumna were trying too hard to cover all the bases in terms of physical training and challenge outings, they certainly weren’t as vibrant or as industrious as we have come to expect from such a battle-hardened outfit. It didn’t help, of course, that Ballyhale had a big cause in trying to atone for last year’s semi-final eclipse and the Kilkenny men were clearly the hungrier side.

Nobody could have envisaged, however, that Portumna would only have two points on the board eight minutes from the interval. Having become used to their early scoring blitzes, this sluggish start was unexpected as Ballyhale dictated the exchanges with TJ Reid quick to make an impact in the half-forward line. Johnny Kelly’s men were on the back-foot and being hounded when in possession. To make matters worse, several key players never got to the pitch of the game. 

Their 0-11 0-5 interval deficit was far from irretrievable, but this was new territory for the Portumna players who are not used to having to come from behind. They improved significantly on the resumption and with Joe Canning a towering presence up front, they were gradually dragging themselves back into the contest when goalkeeper Ivan Canning committed an unforced error which presented the only green flag of the game to David Hoyne in the 46th minute.

It was a goal out of nothing and the concession of it must have sickened Portumna. Typically, they never threw in the towel, but it was always going to be an uphill battle from there to the finish. Ballyhale were simply slicker, more driven and hungrier on the day with the Reid brothers, Eoin and TJ, Henry Shefflin, and James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick picking off the vital points which were always keeping the champions at bay.

Portumna have been a long time on the go and, on the law of averages alone, they were due to come unstuck sooner rather than later, but last Wednesday week in Croke Park was the last occasion they would have chosen for it to happen, especially standing on the brink of hurling history. They owe apologies to no-one, however, as this group of players have been magnificent ambassadors for Galway.

We all knew that Ballyhale were longing for another crack at Portumna and they certainly walked the walk on St. Patrick’s Day. They were up for the match big time and their early avalanche of points must have been soul destroying for the Portumna supporters. They got the perfect start and were in no mood to surrender the initiative with corner back Alan Cuddihy typifying their defensive tenacity.

Overall, the Shamrocks had an urgency about them which Portumna struggled to match. With Shefflin calling most of the organisational shots from the forty, they had prepared well tactically and rarely gave the opposition’s attack the room it needs to thrive on. They were nearly always forcing the pace but, more importantly, ensured that Portumna were rarely allowed to build up their normal momentum.

It will take Leo Smith and his team-mates a while to come to terms with their first championship defeat since the county final of 2006 and given the levels of professionalism, ambition and commitment in their ranks, they are probably still in a state of shock over coming to grief in the All-Ireland final. Like all great teams, Portumna don’t like being beaten but, one thing is for sure ... they will be back.

For more, read this week's Connacht Tribune.