Kelly says record bid won’t distract Portumna

JOHNNY KELLY endured enough days of hardship as player with Portumna to fully appreciate thebounty that is being reaped by the side he now manages.

Kelly did his hurling when Portumna were trying to find their feet at senior level after coming up fromintermediate.

Even when they got a run going they found the bar had been raised a few notches higher as Sarsfields and Athenry strutted their stuff around the county before going further afield and lifting All-Irelands.

Now it is Portumna who are the market leaders. Tomorrow they will become the first side to play in the Galway senior hurling final for seven years in a row.

They are bidding to win their third title in-a-row, a feat which proved beyond even the great Sars team of the 1980s and ‘90s and which was last done by Athenry a decade ago.

“It would be foolish to get wrapped up in records or what might happen down the road. We don’t speak of the three-in-a-row here, we don’t go on about records.

“What we concentrate on is getting everything right to try to go out and give as good an account of ourselves every day as we can. That is what we will be trying to do Sunday.”

They have been doing that with some style since making the breakthrough with a first senior title in 2003. They have added three more crowns since and three All-Ireland titles have followed.

They have not lost a match since that controversial defeat by Loughrea in 2006 – and they sailed, for the most part, through Galway again this year. Admittedly they got a wake-up call in the semi-finals when Gort hit them for six goals and while it was freakish – four of them came in the dying moments – Portumna will use it to their advantage.

“We can’t be content conceding six goals. It was clear from the Gort game that we need to tighten the defence but we hope we have,” said Kelly.

Key midfielder Eoin Lynch had to go off in that game but the postponement of the final has been a blessing as it has given the Galway player time to recover.

“Eoin picked up a serious shoulder injury against Gort and he was sorely missed coming towards the end of the game. So, at least the break has given Eoin the chance to recover completely,” said Kelly.

Kelly took over the reins last season after serving as a mentor for several years and he knows that each game needs to be treasured. “It is a great achievement to get to seven finals in a row. I remember how difficult it was to make the breakthrough so we need to make the most of every chance we get,” he added.

Meanwhile GAA President Christy Cooney says he will not become involved in the Galway referees dispute which this weekend sees hurling referees officiate ‘under protest’.

Referee Christy Helebert has sent a full file to Croke Park requesting a full investigation be carried out into the incidents at the end of the Galway SHC semi-final between Mullagh and Loughrea. Helebert said in his match report that he was assaulted by three players and included in the file sent to the National Referees Administration is a medical report detailing the injuries he says he received.

Referees in the county have come out in support of him after proposed 48-weeks suspensions on three players were reduced to 12-week bans. GAA President Christy Cooney, speaking in NUI Galway at an exhibition to mark the 125th anniversary of the GAA, declined to comment on the furore.

“I’m not going into that, it is a matter for others to handle,” he said.

However he said he is pleased with the standard of refereeing this year and he urged that full respect be shown to match officials at all times.

“This year, the standard of county refereeing has been superb. We always want people to act responsibly towards referees, treat referees with respect because we want referees to treat players with respect. By and large at inter-county level this year we had a successful year. Our players were exemplary on the field of play. That is not saying we won’t have incidents at club or county level. We will of course with the volume of games we play.

[Referees] have a very responsible job and yes they do an excellent job for us.”

- Tomorrow: Galway SHC final: Portumna v Loughrea, Pearse Stadium, 2.30pm, Pearse Stadium (A. Kelly).