Controversial late free bails Portumna out of trouble

Date Published: 12-Oct-2010

Portumna 1-14

Loughrea 2-11

FRANK FARRAGHER

IN ATHENRY

IT’S been a rarity for the Portumna hurlers during their glory odyssey of the past decade to have to rely on the grace of the referee and the last strike of the sliotar for championship survival, but such was their fate at Kenny Park on Sunday evening last.

Referee Eoin Shaughnessy had played the allotted four minutes of time to be added on when Loughrea’s Johnny O’Loughlin – with all the precision of a microsurgeon – cut a sideline ball over Ivan Canning’s crossbar to put this side into a 2-11 to 1-13 lead.

The curtain seemed destined to fall on one of the great success stories of Galway and national club hurling in recent times but as the match ticked well through its 65th minute, the referee allowed time for Ivan Canning to take the puck-out as Portumna launched a desperate late-late attack.

One hectic hullabaloo developed in front of the Loughrea posts with bodies everywhere and not a sign of the sliotar, before Eoin O’Shaughnessy – after consulting with his umpires – awarded a ‘21’ right in front of the posts which Joe Canning drove gratefully over the bar.

Loughrea protested vehemently, and from experience the usual result from such fusion of bodies into a tight space is for the referee to throw the ball in, but after Shaughnessy took advice from his umpires he opted for the free-in to Portumna.

It all added up to one daring escape for Portumna and agonising disappointment for a Loughrea side that refused to succumb to defeat even though they had trailed their great rivals for nearly all of the match. The closing scenes in front of a heaving crowd at Kenny Park represented drama which was soaked in tension, excitement and intrigue but before that, the hour of hurling was far from vintage fare.

All of the critical bits were in place for a showpiece. Two of the top sides in the county were facing up to each other . . . the atmosphere was electric in Kenny Park . . . the sod was dry and there was scarcely a puff of breeze in the heavens.But over the years, Portumna and Loughrea have got to know each oth

er well. Loughrea’s county final victory of ’06 still rankles with Portumna and since then they have wasted no opportunity to exact revenge. Undercurrents of tension and venom fill the air when they meet.