Athenry 1-21

Portumna 3-13

JUST like old times. Two one-time behemoths of Galway club hurling trying to revive past glories admittedly at a level below what either team were used to during their respective eras of dominance.

A big crowd gathered in Ballinasloe on Saturday evening to see a repeat of the 2004 county final – the only occasion Athenry’s and Portumna’s paths overlapped during a 20-year period when the clubs snared 13 senior hurling titles between them.

Contesting a Senior B final is not where either of them would want to be given their illustrious pasts, but it will do for now given Portumna’s demotion from the top flight last year and Athenry’s tangle with the drop to intermediate level in 2024.

This was an absorbing decider between rivals still in some sort of transition and though Athenry deservedly emerged triumphant, Portumna’s ability to engineer goals when they needed them ensured the outcome was in the balance right to the end.

After the teams were level five times in the opening 13 minutes, Athenry’s better-balanced outfit began to stamp their authority on the exchanges. They led by 0-15 to 1-8 at the interval and that advantage had increased to five points midway through the second half.

But they had to survive a helter-skelter finale. Portumna goals from the lively Declan McLaughlin and Joe Canning (free) rattled Athenry but didn’t break them with top scorer Cian Burke coming to their rescue.

Yet, with the match deep into stoppage time, you would have put the house on a stalemate outcome. With his team trailing by one (3-13 to 1-20), Canning stood over a ’65 almost directly in front of the Athenry posts. A routine opportunity for the ‘great man’ in normal circumstances.

The former Galway star, however, had already been off target from three placed balls, a situation which cranked up the pressure. Canning drove the sliotar hard but again there was no white flag. Referee Christy Browne allowed play to continue, and Burke nailed the insurance free after young Jason Rabbitte had bravely fielded another puck-out.

Pictured: Athenry’s Patrick Hannon and Jack Carr tussling for possession with Jack Canning (right) and Ronan O’Meara of Portumna during Saturday’s County Senior Hurling B Final at Duggan Park. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.