Controversial late free saves All-Ireland Club Champions

IT was billed as the ‘Clash of the Titans’ and in terms of quality scores it didn’t disappoint. Yes, the fire and brimstone of their group meeting earlier in the campaign was, by and large, absent but this was not the occasion for bravado. The stakes were simply too high.

Understandable then that a number of the Portumna players should have remonstrated with referee Alan Kelly upon the conclusion of this absorbing contest – after all, it was his awarding of a controversial free, which was brought forward for dissent before being converted by St. Thomas’ Conor Cooney to take the fixture to a replay, that denied Portumna victory.

It does give Portumna a cause going into the replay – and Portumna with a cause is some animal – but, in saying that, they also have to hold their hands up for finding themselves in the situation they found themselves in.

They didn’t defend adequately for substitute Richard Murray’s 58th minute goal – a speculative Eanna Burke effort that fell short which the experienced Murray diverted to the net – while Joe Canning, who otherwise had a fantastic game, left a shot short that would have sealed a two-point win in injury-time but, instead, allowed St. Thomas’ the opportunity to counter in search of an equaliser.

Once that happened, the possibility of the game becoming a draw was very distinct, regardless of what action the referee took. After all, St. Thomas’ are the current All-Ireland club champions. Their currency is not moral victories. Their success is built on securing results, whatever the circumstances.

That said, Kelly certainly didn’t hurt St. Thomas’ ambitions when he harshly penalised Portumna corner back Gareth Heagney for over-carrying in the second minute of injury-time before bringing the ball forward 10 metres after Francis Canning’s charges, not surprisingly, vigorously protested.

Portumna will argue that they had every right to be aggrieved – and you would have some sympathy with them on this count – but they forgot one of the fundamental rules of the game: ‘The referee is always right’. Read full match report in this week's Connacht Tribune.