Agony for Athenry as Portumna snatch draw

A CROWD of close on 10,000 witnessed an enthralling conclusion to this tense Galway SHC semi-final as Portumna looked to have let a winning hand slip before salvaging a draw in the seventh minute of stoppage time.

The hurling was poor throughout at Kenny Park in Athenry between two sides who have a lot of baggage – nine players were booked and both dugouts engaged in constant verbal abuse – but the huge crowd got value for money with a dramatic finish.

Johnny O’Loughlin looked to have knocked Portumna out when he landed a superb sideline from 25 metres on the right in the fourth minute of stoppage time. But there was one final kick left in Portumna and it proved to be controversial as Joe Canning pointed a 20 metres free with the last puck of the game.