Hayes happy to lay ghost of ’06 to rest

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH Damien Hayes agreed that while a fifth county title for Portumna – and a fifth medal for him – had been very rewarding, beating Loughrea in yesterday’s Galway hurling decider in Pearse Stadium had been extra special because of what happened three years ago against them in the final.

“For this bunch of players, it was very important for us to win this one, because there has been a lot said about ‘06,’’ he commented.

“At the end of the day Loughrea won the county final and they had their county medals and that’s it. End of story. I never got involved in the rest of it. We just wanted to put a stop to the talk; all the rest has been said. It was so important for this bunch of players to go and win it.

“We know this is not going to happen for ever, that is the long and short of it. This bunch of players will never come again. Winning five county medals is extremely special.’’

Hayes was modest about his contribution of 3-3, insisting he had only goals on his mind on each of the three occasions he went through to score them. “I will always praise my team-mates. Everything was handed to me or passed or put ‘60/40’ in my direction. Thankfully they all went in. Every dog has his day and maybe I had mine today. It finished off a good year for me.

“I don’t see myself as a soft-option forward,’’ he added. “I don’t get the praise, (but) I don’t care. I have a county medal and that is the most important thing. It mightn’t make headlines, but county medals are going to be on my mantle-piece and (same with) all my brothers.’’

The Portumna manager Johnny Kelly, who took over in the winter of 2007 after having retired following the 2006 campaign, was pleased the game was played in the right spirit. “We went out to play hurling as much as we could. We have a physical approach to our play anyway, so it’s very hard to temper that. If we did, we’d be under pressure. We played to our strengths and it worked out on the day.

“It was comparatively easy in the finish. But we know we have some seriously talented forwards and if we get the ball into them, they will do serious damage. Hurling is a funny game so you have to keep the foot on the pedal all the time. We were caught on occasions before, so we take nothing for granted. Where is the joy in sport if you are not going out with a competitive edge? That’s instilled in the boys and it’s working well for them.’’

Losing manager Padraic Duddy, a Clare-based teacher, talked about his players “being crushed” by the severity of their defeat, saying: “I suppose you have good days and bad days in hurling and this was a bad day for Loughrea.’’

Believing that his team had started well, he agreed that they were in trouble after conceding three early goals: “That’s their game. After that we were chasing shadows. We were playing catch up and with a team of that quality you are not going to do it. I am immensely proud of the Loughrea lads. They never throw in the towel, but those goals were a killer.’’

Stating that the 2006 final was “blown up out of all proportion”, Duddy said while there had been a lot of talk last week about a “bloodbath”, it was never going to happen.

“That was on neither team’s agenda. The agenda for both teams today was to win a county final and fair play to Portumna the best team won.

“They are a serious team. Their record speaks for itself. I have no complaints about being beaten by a team like that. What can you say? You take your beating and that’s it!’’