Greatness is often an over-used term in a sporting context. To some it's seen as the accumulation of titles, medals, and personal accolades over a sporting career. To others, it's the delivery of the perfect season or performance when the occasion demands it most. Whatever your defintion, Joe Canning certainly fits the bill. Even at the tender age of 20, Canning has already compiled a CV bulging with many of the game's highest honours. Yesterday was another demonstration of his extraordinary talent as his 0-10 assisted Portumna to their fourth Galway SHC title. However, it was a day when the current GAA All-Star and Young Hurler of the Year was outshone by his team-mates.
The versatile Martin Dolphin capped a memorable performance at corner-back by picking up the man-of-the-match award. "With players beside me in defence like Eugene McEntee and Ollie Canning, I felt under no pressure coming into that game", admitted the county minor, who has been a vital component of the Portumna side in his debut season.
Despite an explosive start by Gort, in which Ollie Fahy goaled inside the opening three minutes, Portumna showed admirable composure to battle back before stamping their authority on the game in the second half. Ollie Canning led the fightback and gradually got to grips with his former Galway colleague. "We felt that Gort had thrown everything at us and if the scores kept coming, we'd get there". Having captained his club to back-to-back county titles, Canning reflected on Portumna's golden period which has yielded four county titles in six years. "We served a very very hard apprenticeship. If you said to us in Portumna that we would contest six county finals in a row, we'd have thought you were mad."
"There were stages in the first half when things didn't look good for us", admitted manager Portumna Johnny Kelly in the aftermath. "Every time we go out we are compared against the Kinvara performance and the All-Ireland final performance against Birr. It's hard to maintain that standard but it's all about peaking at the right time. While we played in bursts today, it was enough to get us over the line ". Having led Portumna to the title in his first season as manager, Kelly was quick to pay tribute to his players. "It's easy manage them, because at times they manage themselves."
Eoin Lynch, who delivered a powerhouse second half, gave an insight into the Portumna dressing-room at half-time after Gort went into the break with all the momentum following Gerry Quinn's goal. "There was calmness in the dressing room at half-time. If a goal goes in, we do not panic."
Referring to Portumna's second-half dominance when they outscored Gort by 1-8 to 0-3, Lynch added that "our experience stood to us and we kept the scoreboard ticking over." Damien Hayes, whose explosive pace and direct running caused Gort's Andy Coen major problems throughout, was a key figure as Portumna wiped out a four-point deficit early on and established a four-point lead without even a goal to accelerate the process. Speaking of the spirit in the group, the Galway star admitted that "winning it with your brothers, friends and family makes it special. It's an honour to play with these boys".
The prospect of club hurling's 'big two', Portumna and Ballyhale Shamrocks, colliding in an All-Ireland semi-final in late February now looms ever larger. Should Henry Shefflin, Cha Fitzpatrick, the Reids and company add the Leinster crown to the Kilkenny county title as expected, the stage will be set for what Portumna midfielder Leo Smith described as a "mouth-watering clash". Let's hope it comes to pass.
