Don’t disregard Dunloy

FOR ALL those in the deep south who believe the All-Ireland club hurling final in Croke Park today is more or less a foregone conclusion, that the honest physical endeavour of the Antrim champions Dunloy will succumb to the pacy, cultured hurling of Newtownshandrum — a word of warning from one who should know.

The All-Ireland hopes of Portumna came crashing to earth with a bang in a semi-final loss to the northerners, leaving a deep and lasting impression on Portumna and Galway captain Ollie Canning.

“Before the game, we didn’t know an awful lot about them. We knew, obviously, that they had a lot of experience at this level, had been to several All-Ireland finals. We had spoken to a few people along the way about their style, their players. But it’s one thing to talk about a team, another thing entirely to meet them on the field. One thing we learned the hard way, they were very capable of taking their scores. They’re a strong team, very wise at this stage, gone through a lot of big games, don’t panic.