Turloughmore 2-26

Portumna 0-17

By Ivan Smyth at Duggan Park

TURLOUGHMORE produced a dominant display as they possessed far too much firepower for Portumna at Duggan Park on Friday evening.

With Turloughmore leading 1-16 to 0-5 at half time, the second period was a matter of avoiding injuries for both sides with the winners eyeing up top spot in the group and passage direct to the quarter final stage.

The fact they shot 2-26 and missed four goal chances shows the Turloughmore attack was firing even without Sean Loftus, who is out long term with a collarbone injury. Portumna only trailed 0-9 to 0-5 after 18 minutes but 1-7 without reply from the winners spelled the end of this game as a contest.

Portumna felt the absence of Jack Canning in defence while Ronan O’Meara, who has taken a year out, is a loss up front with Jimmy Heverin’s side wasteful during the first half. They did improve after the break with Joe Canning moving from wing forward to midfield. However, Turloughmore were always able to maintain a vice-like grip on proceedings as they never allowed their opponents to enjoy hopes of a comeback.

Canning fired in nine of his side’s total while Declan McLoughlin notched a lovely score in the first half. The inter county player did struggle with a lack of supply as he was forced to forage out the field in search for possession. On Turloughmore’s side, Conor Walsh made a welcome return to the starting fold. He finished as the game’s top scorer with 0-11 while Brendan Phelan netted on his championship debut.

Daithí Burke linked the play well from centre back while his ability to read the breaking ball is a huge asset for both club and county. His brother Ronan was sharp minding the square although one must sense that the Turloughmore defence will face stricter tests ahead. Sean Linnane toiled hard at centre forward and grabbed two neatly taken points.

Pictured: Turloughmore’s Seán Linnane trying to break free from Adam Fogarty of Portumna during Friday’s Senior A Hurling Championship clash at Duggan Park. Photos: David Cunniffe.