Portarlington show championship pedigree to survive Stradbally scare

Portarlington’s search for a famous four in-a-row of Jack Delaney cups remains on despite a nerve-racking showdown with a rejuvenated Stradbally side.

Karl O’Dwyer’s men pushed the county champions all the way here but a late push from Portarlington was enough to see them survive.

Portarlington 0-16

Stradbally 1-8

Stradbally opened the scoring in Laois Hire O’Moore Park. A patient and well-worked move that last two minutes ended with Ronan Creery curling over from an acute angle.

Portarlington responded to that point in style though. They dominated the opening ten minutes after that to take a 0-4 to 0-1 lead.

Colm Murphy got Portarlington the scoreboard with a delightful score under pressure. Then the returning Jake Foster, who had been sidelined through injury for their entire league campaign, pushed them in front with a free.

Ronan Coffey was causing a lot of problems for Stradbally throughout the first half. He scored two points during the opening quarter stage and was involved in everything positive Portarlington did in their build-up play.

Coffey’s first point came from Portarlington putting the squeeze on Stradbally’s kick-out. They turned Damien Murphy over and Coffey composed himself to curl over.

Daragh Galvin finished off a slick counter-attacking move to put Portarlington three to the good. The reigning champions didn’t look like slowing down after that either, as Portarlington kicked two more points to put themselves in a commanding position.

Coffey kicked them both, as he showed his ability with both feet. His first came from Stradbally giving away the ball again in their own half and Coffey punished them off his right.

The Portarlington wing-forward’s third point was his finest of the lot. Coffey sold his marker a dummy before calmly placing one over off his left boot this time around.

You were worried from a neutral perspective for Stradbally at this stage. They had been outplayed for the first twenty minutes of this contest and Portarlington could give any team a beating when they’re in the mood.

The final ten minutes of the half turned this contest around from a Stradbally perspective. Colm Begley landed a point from a placed ball and then Stradbally grabbed a goal to get right back into this one.

Darragh Carolan came in from the wing and found Ciaran O’Neill inside. O’Neill was surrounded by Portarlington defenders, but he managed to find a gap and hit the back of the net.

That brought the game to life and Karl O’Dwyer’s side could have easily scored a second goal straight after their first. Ronan Creery managed to find another gap in the Portarlington defence, but his effort was well saved by goalkeeper Luke O’Reilly.

Nevertheless, Stradbally levelled proceedings when Colm Begley curled over his second free of the half. While Portarlington grabbed the last score of the half through a Jake Foster free, the county champions looked a little bit rattled heading into the dressing room.

The opening stages of the second-half were hard-fought and physical. Stradbally continued to match Portarlington in this department and remained only a point behind.

Portarlington did eventually find carve a bit of room in the Stradbally backline and were rewarded with some frees from referee Des Cooney. Jake Foster and Colm Murphy both added points from those placed balls to move three to the good.

Stradbally missed a few decent chances to cut into that deficit after that. They eventually replied through half-time substitute Garry Comerford, as the former League of Ireland soccer player sliced over a classy score.

Portarlington restored their three-point cushion shortly after that. Paddy O’Sullivan burst up from wing-back and picked out Colm Murphy with an excellent delivery. Murphy fisted the opportunity over from close-range.

Stradbally came roaring back again though. Darragh Carolan kicked over his first point before Garry Comerford landed his second since coming on. Comerford was showing his class now and Stradbally were looking to get the ball to him at every chance.

Colm Murphy replied for Portarlington with a free but Stradbally met that score with two points from the boot of Colm Begley. The Stradbally midfielder dominated the skies in the second-half and drew them level with five minutes of normal time remaining.

Portarlington showed the stuff of champions in the home stretch. Colm Murphy, Rioghan Murphy, Jake Foster (free) and substitute Stephen O’Neill all raised white flags to make sure Portarlington remained on track in this year’s championship.