Joe Canning posted 0-10 as Portumna ended St. Thomas' reign as county and All-Ireland club champions following a titanic Galway SHC semi-final replay in Athenry.

Six days ago at the same venue, Richie Murray's last-gasp goal rescued St. Thomas', and it looked as though they would pull off another great escape when Conor Cooney netted at the end of normal time to leave the minimum in it, 0-17 to 2-10. But Canning replied with a huge point from 100 metres to give Portumna a 0-18 to 2-11 victory.

Former All-Ireland kingpins Portumna had opened up a 0-5 to 0-1 lead before the holders raised their first green flag in the 10th minute to get themselves back into it. They battled back to lead by 1-7 to 0-9 at the break, but Francis Canning's side regained the initiative after the restart and eventually prevailed thanks in no small part to the scoring prowess of county stars Canning and Damien Hayes, who notched up 0-13 between them.

Portumna will now renew their rivalry with Loughrea in the final at Pearse Stadium on Sunday, October 27.

In the Kenny Park curtain-raiser, former Galway star David Tierney completed the first leg of what could be a famous weekend double when he helped Kilnadeema/Leitrim to a surprise 2-14 to 1-14 win over Cappataggle in the Galway IHC final. Brian Molloy scored 0-8 in a man of the match display for the winners.

Tierney won't be able to celebrate tonight as he will also be in action tomorrow for Salthill/Knocknacarra in the Galway SFC final against Corofin at Tuam Stadium. Tweet

Most Read Stories