Cracking Canning in class of his own

There are some causes lost before they are even ventured.

Attempting to paint Galway’s No 14 as an ordinary Joe is one of them.

Yesterday evening, selector Tom Helebert did his damnedest but it was futile. After another free-scoring championship display against Cork, Canning brought his all-time summer tally against them to 2-31 in just four games.

Yet there was still value in Helebert’s words. At the death, it was he chasing down and beating Cork’s young substitute Daniel Kearney in his own right corner.

Two minutes from the end of normal time, it was he who had initially upended Darren Sweetnam in a most cynical way off the ball as another of Jimmy Barry-Murphy’s tyros tried an attacking run down the tram-line.

Neither Brian Gavin nor his linesman saw the incident, giving Canning the opportunity to steal possession and earn a free from Paudie O’Sullivan, which the Portumna man pointed in a quintessential example of creator and taker.

From an early juncture this year it was obvious Canning had become more svelte-like. It was something Helebert remarked upon.

Yes, we had seen him in deep defensive positions before but hardly as effective as this and with such frequency.

“I would say our approach with Joe and with everybody else on the panel is that everyone has their own job to do,” said Helebert.

“Whether it’s Joe, Damien, Cyril, Tony Óg or whoever it is an irrelevant comparison in some respects because at the end of the day it is all back to the performance of the players as a unit and as a group.

“Joe understands that, like all the other players, and we are very pleased that he is giving us big, huge performances.

“He worked tirelessly for the team today, tirelessly for the effort and the result. They are big moments for every player let alone Joe and we are delighted as a management team that Joe has presented himself fit and healthy for the year and we are getting a lot of value out of him.”

What Galway got from Canning in tracking back, they also received from him in his role as punisher-in-chief.

Before yesterday, just 1-5 of his 1-21 total in Leinster came from play — a slightly disappointing personal return for a hurler with such high standards. The four he picked off from play yesterday of his 0-11 marked a return to his old self.

But even then he was a provider too. A brief segment of play 11 minutes into in the second half emphasised his quality in that department.

With Brian Murphy hot on his trail, matters looked ominous for Canning when Eoin Cadogan made it a lynch mob.

He looked to be fouled attempting to angle towards Anthony Nash’s goal but Gavin waved it off. However, it didn’t deter Canning as he managed to retain possession under serious scrutiny and square the ball.

The pass was overcooked but Niall Burke eventually pointed and much of the Galway applause was clearly directed towards the facilitator of the score.

In the 52nd minute, he broke down a ball for the same player to advance on the Cork goal only for Nash to deny and put out for a 65, which Canning ended up pointing.

Eight minutes later and his decoy run distracted the Cork backs long enough to give James Regan enough time to pick his spot.

In the build-up, it was the likes of Niall Burke and his namesake David who were the forwards spoken of, much to the delight of former Galway players who finally believed the emphasis of the attack was shifting from Canning.

Damien Hayes’s move to the centre was the biggest forecasted tactic — not Canning alternating between the forward lines.

So long the Batman and Robin partnership for Portumna, the pair teamed up again in the first half to help keep in touch with Cork.

Twice Hayes laid on scores for Canning to convert, one from a free and the other a clever 33rd-minute move which put Galway ahead for the first time since the opening seconds of the game.

Canning may have been the aggressor on occasions but then given the hot treatment handed out by Murphy it wasn’t as if it was unprovoked.

He picked up a dirty blow to his ankle in the first half but gone on with it.

Afterwards, Barry-Murphy spoke about his defender Murphy doing as good as he could against Canning. The operative words in that sentence were “as good as he could”.

Because Canning was that good.