Rathdowney-Errill ruthlessly dispatch of Portlaoise in ACHL Division 1 opener

The Laois club hurling season returned to action last weekend. The reigning Premier Intermediate champions, Portlaoise, are now playing at Senior level and will also be competing in Division 1 of the league.

Tommy Fitzgerald’s side will know that staying up is the main target for this season. Portlaoise welcomed Rathdowney-Errill to Rathleague on Saturday afternoon on a blustery but bright spring day.

Rathdowney-Errill 2-21

Portlaoise 0-10

Rathdowney-Errill will no doubt be disappointed with their championship performance last season. They were left stunned by Abbeyleix in the semi-final, as they went on to reach their maiden Senior hurling final.

It was Rathdowney-Erill who claimed the two points on offer in this opening-round league clash though. Portlaoise kept it somewhat competitive in the first half but when Rathdowney-Errill full-forward Darragh Carroll flicked in their second goal, there was only going to be one winner.

Portlaoise opened the scoring in Rathleague, as The Town played against a strong first half wind. Centre-forward John Mark Foley floated over a fine point from play, but Rathdowney-Errill swiftly responded with the game’s first goal.

Jimmy Keegan cut through the Portlaoise cover and crashed the back of the net for the away side. However, Rathdowney-Errill struggled to build on that early goal, as they registered seven wides in the first quarter of the match.

Portlaoise grabbed the next score through wing-back Matthew Dempsey, as he came up the field to sidestep past a defender before Dempsey drove over. Then Aaron Bergin levelled proceedings through a converted free.

Rathdowney-Errill struggled to find their range in that first quarter, but they were much more accurate in the second quarter. Wing-back Dan Bowe burst up to launch over a big point from out neat the middle of the park to edge them back in front.

Paddy Hassett hit over a free before Ray Bowe brilliantly placed one between the posts over his shoulder. Dylan Carroll (free), Padraig Rafter and Shane Madden all raised further white flags as Rathdowney-Errill showed their variety of different scorers in the first half.

Aaron Bergin ended the Portlaoise drought with a point from a placed ball, but Rathdowney-Errill continued to finish the half strongly. Paddy Hassett replied with a converted free before Michael Cleary and Shane Madden added further points from play.

Portlaoise did manage to grab the last score through a Bergin free, but they trailed 0-5 to 1-9 at home during the interval. The Town team did play against a strong wind in that first half though, so they were not completely out of this Division 1 contest.

Tommy Fitzgerald’s side came out of the dressing room with renewed energy and grabbed the first two points of the second-half to cut the deficit to five points. John Mark Foley and Aaron Bergin both knocked over points from play for the men wearing white and green.

However, Rathdowney-Errill ruthlessly responded to that positive early Portlaoise spell with their second goal of the game to put daylight between the two once more. Shane Madden’s shot fell short into the square where full-forward Darragh Carroll managed to flick it into the net.

Midfielder Padraig Rafter showed his power to motor past Portlaoise defenders and add another for Rathdowney-Errill. Ray Bowe also landed his second point to leave the away outfit ten clear with over twenty minutes still to play.

Portlaoise went score for score with Rathdowney-Errill over the next few minutes. Aaron Bergin placed over three points from frees but Paddy Hassett also did likewise for Rathdowney-Errill.

Bergin’s fere in the fourty-first minute proved to be Portlaoise’s final score of the match though. While The Town will be disappointed with how they squandered some decent goal chances in the second half, there was still only going to be one winner here today.

Padraig Rafter continued to dominate in the middle of the park and added two more points to his name. While Paddy Hassett was unerring from placed balls. Hassett landed four more as well as one from play to give Rathdowney-Errill a seventeen-point win at the end in Rathleague.   

Rathdowney-Errill will face Rosenallis at home next while Portlaoise will travel to the beaten Senior finalists of last season, Abbeyleix. Those games will take place two weeks from now.