All-Ireland club SHC final; Portumna 0-17 Ballyhale Shamrocks 1-19:Ballyhale Shamrocks denied Portumna a third All-Ireland club hurling championship on the trot today, despite a 12-point haul from Galway star Joe Canning at Croke Park.
It was a dominant performance all round from the Kilkenny men who raced into a six-point win within 16 minutes, through points from Cha Fitzpatrick, Henry Shefflin, TJ Reid and Paddy Reid.
Joe Canning pointed from a free early on but Portumna’s first from play came from his hurl in the 17th minute.
He struck his and Portumna’s third in response to further Ballyhale points from Eoin Reid’s and Shefflin.
It could have been worse for Portumna after goalkeeper Ivan Canning fumbled the ball into the path of David Hoyne, but the chance was wasted with the goal at his mercy.
Nevertheless, Shefflin and Eoin Reid put eight in it minutes before the break, though the gap was narrowed by two Damien Hayes points.
Canning burst out of the blocks in the second half with four points in seven minutes but they were letting in scores at the other end too, with Fitzpatrick and TJ Reid pointing.
Canning kept his tally ticking over but Ballyhale simply had more scorers, Shefflin and Martin Dolphin keeping their nose in front this time.
Hoyne then made amends for his earlier miss by punishing another Ivan Canning mistake, this time gathering a poor clearance before firing home.
Peter Smith and Andy Smith pointed for Portumna but they needed a goal as the game wore. Despite Canning’s best efforts, it never came, and the Kilkenny side cantered to a five-point win.
Croke Park Results
All-Ireland Club Football Final
St Gall's 0-13 Kilmurry-Ibrickane 1-05
All-Ireland Club Hurling Final
Ballyhale Shamrocks 1-19 Portumna 0-17