jpcampion,

Portumna had just as challenging path to the final as MLR, Na Phrasigh or Loughgliel.

Portumna bet Kinvara in rd1 a strong club here in Galway. They were drawn in a group with All Ireland Champions St.Thomas's, Clarinbridge (All Ireland's Champions of 3 seasons ago) and Killimordaly (Galway Intermediate Champions 2013). They had a point to spare over St.Toms, they were beaten by the Bridge and had to get a result v Killimordaly to qualify. In the quarter finals they only took the lead vs Ardrahan in the 59th minute. In the semi final they had to play St.Toms again and it took a replay to see them home by 2-3 points. and in the final they had Loughrea, which everyone in Galway knows are the only team Portumna would have a fear about. Throw in the Na Phrasigh game then. They had a very tough run to the final.

crossfieldball (Galway) - Posts: 650 - 18/03/2014 17:37:57    1561689

Anyone who thinks the Galway champs have it easy knows SFA about hurling or the 'dog eat dog' nature of the Galway Championship.

Barnowl94 (Galway) - Posts: 3150 - 18/03/2014 17:55:46    1561706

Congratulations to Portumna for winning their 4th title yesterday. There is no doubt that Port were the better team on the day. Portumna took their scores well - and seemed to strike back with an immediate point any time Rangers scored. That is a sign of a good team.

Barry Kelly made some strange decisions, for both sides but the one that really puzzled many was the sending off of Edward Coady. It is hard to fathom what the sending off was based on. Having watched it last night- I am still unsure.
This did not make any difference to the result. And Barry Kelly was not the difference either!
I think the experience of Portumna of recent trips to Croke Park and the undoubted skill and finishing power of the Portumna forwards plus MLR not playing to their best was the key areas of difference.

As an aside - should we have referees from a province doing All Ireland finals when clubs from that province are competing - yesterday we had 2 Leinster referees with 2 Leinster clubs playing. Surely the other provinces referees should have been used?

As I say congrats to Portumna - I don't know what gear you were in but it was enough to win yesterday. Perhaps you can come back and put 2 back to back wins. Based on yesterday you have the firepower to do it.

carlowman (Carlow) - Posts: 1875 - 18/03/2014 18:07:38    1561716

"Also the Antrim Champions have a few games to play in their championship and every third year I believe get a bye into the final, with the other 2 years shared between the Down and Derry Champions."

Are the Armagh champions not also in it (depending on who wins the Armagh championship)? I remember Keady in the Ulster final a couple of years ago & Middletown won the Ulster intermediate title 2 years ago.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 18/03/2014 18:18:51    1561724

is there a coincidence that galways free path to semi finals is leading to this impressive all ireland winning record?i would say yes.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 18/03/2014 18:31:34    1561738

theres no doubt if galway teams had 2 or 3 tough provincial games like all teams in munster and leinster they would find it much harder to win all irelands.it has to be a huge help.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 18/03/2014 18:37:39    1561744

Sure the Galway club competition is like a provincial championship anyway because the standard is so high and is without doubt the highest standard county club hurling championship on this island by some distance. When a team gets out of Galway you know they've earned it. Just to prove that fact, Clarnbridge won the club All Ireland in 2011, St. Thomas' won it in 2013 and Portumna won it again this year.

ahsure. (Galway) - Posts: 1687 - 18/03/2014 18:48:29    1561749

all countie championships are hard to win.then to win either the munster or leinster provincial championship is another hard slog.the fact is galway teams get a bye into semis.it has to help.once u win galway u can plan ahead and make sure team is fresh,with no injuries and can peak for semi.if kilkenny or cork champions teams for example,get a bye to semis i reckon theyd have won a lot more all irelands also.the fact is its not a fair format.no doubt galway is a quality championship but the winners have a big advantage thereafter.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 18/03/2014 19:02:43    1561755

I'd like to see the losing Leinster & Munster finalists play All-Ireland quarter-finals against the Galway & Ulster champions.

keeper7 (Longford) - Posts: 4088 - 18/03/2014 21:45:32    1561856

Good call keeper.i like the sounds of dat.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 18/03/2014 21:53:27    1561866

That would be an unfair system Keeper if it came in, it would mean that teams from Munster and Leinster get a second chance but the same chance would not exist for the Galway or Ulster champs.
Either have an open draw for all the county champions ( scrapping provincial championships) or include the Galway & Antrim/Derry/Down winners in the Leinster club championship or else continue as we are.

Barnowl94 (Galway) - Posts: 3150 - 19/03/2014 08:16:47    1561882

Funny thing MLR were the best Leinster had to offer, why do Leinster posters didrespect them? When Galway represent Connacht in the Inter-pro with an understrength team did you say Leinster had an unfair advantage? I would have no problem with all Galway teams playing in Leinster. Actually get rid of the provinces completely, this would hurt Cork and Kerry the most in the big ball perhaps. Congrats to Portumna for being a top club in the history of the game regardless of where the GAA locate them.

suckvalleypaddy (Galway) - Posts: 1736 - 19/03/2014 09:49:06    1561904

cuederocket
County: Dublin
Posts: 58

1561755
all countie championships are hard to win.then to win either the munster or leinster provincial championship is another hard slog.the fact is galway teams get a bye into semis.it has to help.once u win galway u can plan ahead and make sure team is fresh,with no injuries and can peak for semi.if kilkenny or cork champions teams for example,get a bye to semis i reckon theyd have won a lot more all irelands also.the fact is its not a fair format.no doubt galway is a quality championship but the winners have a big advantage thereafter.


As a Galway supporter I would agree with this. We are too long burying our heads and it is time to face reality. If our club teams are the best in the country over so many years why is it that our county team is failing year in year out? The facts are that it here isn't a level playing pitch and the same applies to minor and under 21. I am willing to take our chances in Leinster even if it means not winning club and minor titles on a regularly basis in future. At least we would know our true worth.

Take our post primary schools teams - we never figure in the closing stages yet we come up with winning minor teams. Mattie Murphy has it off to a fine art and more luck to him. However every other county minor team has a long campaign leading up to the leaving cert. They then have to take a break and come back and try to peak again after the exams. Galway Coast around until after the exams. There has to be something in it and it is doing Galway hurling a disservice long term.

westisthebest (Galway) - Posts: 444 - 19/03/2014 09:50:28    1561907

good post westisbest

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 19/03/2014 10:01:38    1561911

Westisbest I dont really agree with that at all. The reason Galway club teams and minor teams do so well I think is because the style of hurling in these competitions is vastly different to the style of hurling at inter-county level. The intensity is nowhere near the same, and the physicality is nowhere near the same. It is these 2 things in particular that Galway senior hurlers have seemed to be short of the past 20 years, and never really the skills of the game. If you have all the skills then you have a great chance at minor and club, it takes more than that to win at senior intercounty though. The way that Portumna struggle against Loughrea highlights this, with Loughrea being the team in Galway that would play in a style most similar to a physical intercounty side.
Regarding underage, since the backdoor has come in adding an extra game to the championship for Galways minors, the rate at which they have been winning minor titles has increased. Therefore to say they would not win as many if they had more games doesnt really stack up. And Galway school teams have dominated Vocational School hurling for years because it is to these schools that most of the underage hurlers go. Many of the best minors in Kilkenny/Tipperary will go to St Kierans, in Clare they go to Flannans, in Galway they go to a number of different schools but alot of them will be in Loughrea Vocational School, who enter a different post-primary competition.
To say that Galway clubs are only winning All-Irelands because they have no provincial campaign is incorrect as well I would say. Portumna had to peak for incredibly competitive group games in summer that they just about survived, the knockout stages in October and then the All-Ireland series in spring. Clarinbridge, the 2011 All-Ireland champions, were in their group but ended up in relegation trouble. I cant believe playing Leinster championship games in November meant MLR were hindered in any way on Monday compared to Portumna. To win Munster you might only need to win 2 provincial games, yet Munster have not had a club in the All-Ireland since 2009 when Portumna blew away De La Salle from Waterford. Surely playing these 2 games isnt taking that much of a toll from munster clubs?

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 19/03/2014 10:57:03    1561948

Points well made Soma.

Barnowl94 (Galway) - Posts: 3150 - 19/03/2014 11:12:20    1561954

Yes the Galway county championship is of a high standard and produces some excellent teams. However Galway teams are at an advantage when it comes to the All-Ireland club championship. It is easier to win 2 games than try and win 4/5 games as the Munster and Leinster teams have to. That's just the truth of it.

No matter how 'dog eat dog' or competitive the Galway Championship they would have less success coming from Munster or Leinster. As those teams have to come through their own 'dog eat dog' championships before battling through the province.

Same goes for Galway minor/U21 teams too. They'd win less if they were put into Leinster ilke their seniors, but it may actually be to their benefit. It is up to them though I suppose. Take their chances and possibly improve by fully embracing their move to Leinster or continue with the system that has seen them win multiple underage and club titles and 4 All-Ireland titles over their history.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13797 - 19/03/2014 11:12:57    1561955

All counties shud have to play the same amount of competetive games to win an all ireland.galway teams have an unfair advantage which needs to be addressed.munster and leinster shud be making a bigger issue of the problem until a proper solution is found.

cuederocket (Dublin) - Posts: 5084 - 19/03/2014 11:25:59    1561965

Soma

Good, well thought at post in fairness.

However I'd still imagine that the Galway clubs wouldn't fair out as well if after their tough champ they then had to face into 2/3 more tough provincial matches. The possibility of them being beaten greatly increases if they have more games to play. That's the reality of it for Munster and Leinster teams.

Another possible outlook could be to put the Antrim champions into the Leinster Championship the Galway champions into the Munster Champions and do away with semi-finals altogether.

MesAmis (Dublin) - Posts: 13797 - 19/03/2014 11:34:20    1561973

cuederocket that approach does not really make sense though. Are you saying if Portumna had played the Roscommon, Mayo and Sligo champions to win Connacht their victory would have been a better achievement? Take for example Oulart winning Wexford for the past 5 years - I dont think anyone has really ran them close there many times at all. Is it fair that they can cruise through their county championship while Portumna, who lost 1 game, drew another and won two other games by a single point in the Galway championship this year (3 different opponents there) have to struggle for the whole summer? I would say ya that is fine, because on Patricks Day the best club team in the country always lifts the cup, which is the best outcome in any competition. You could just as easily say that Galway clubs are so successful because their championship is so strong that whoever comes out is better prepared than any other county champions because they are playing against a high standard of opposition all summer. MLR have proven you dont need a very strong county championship to compete, Antrim champions have shown that a handy run to the semi-final doesnt guarantee All-Ireland glory, every year it is proven you need to be the best team in Ireland to win it out.

Soma (UK) - Posts: 2630 - 19/03/2014 11:47:26    1561980