County champions Camross dispatch of Portlaoise to finish second in Group B of Laois SHC
The Harps will now be tasked with trying to end Camross' reign as champions
County champions Camross have finished second in Group B of the Laois Shopping Centre Senior Hurling Championship after they had 12 points to spare over Portlaoise in Laois Hire O'Moore Park this afternoon.
A goal late in the first half from Ciaran Collier proved to be the game-changing moment as Camross never looked back from there as they scored points at will.
Camross 1-20
Portlaoise 0-11
The deadlock was broken by both sides in the opening two minutes as Aaron Bergin pointed a free with Gearoid Burke levelling it up down the other end. Bergin was Portlaoise's only scorer in the first period as he added a second free to his name. Zane Keenan (free) and a second point from Burke had Camross ahead three points to two after five minutes.
It took until the 10th minute for the next score to go over as Bergin once again showed his accuracy from placed balls. Liam Delaney then opened his account for Camross with Keenan pointing a second free soon after. A fourth Bergin free was matched with a second point from play off the hurl of Delaney. James Cuddy added to Camross' lead as they went three points ahead approaching half-time.
Bergin raised his fifth and Portlaoise's fifth white flag as he got a first score from play. Mossy Keyes on his return from America scored a sublime point which saw him go on a superb run under the stand before slotting the ball over. Bergin pointed two more scores before the break to cut Camross' lead to a single point but Arien Delaney's side would go into half-time with a five-point advantage as Delaney got a third point of the half before Ciaran Collier buried the ball into Brochan O'Reilly's net after Colin McEvoy had slipped. Camross led 1-9 to 0-7.
The county champions showed their true credentials in the second period as they got the first four scores of the half with Portlaoise not registering a second-half score until the 45th minute. Eoghan Cuddy, Keenan (free) and two points from Gearoid Burke pushed Camross into a commanding position. Cian Taylor became the first Portlaoise player to score that wasn't Aaron Bergin. James Conroy added a point soon after Taylor.
Mossy Keyes and Camross captain Darragh Duggan got a point each as Portlaoise's Dylan Sheehan picked up a breaking ball to leave eight points between the teams. Tom Cuddy, Eoghan Cuddy (free) and Darren Drennan all raised white flags as the game fizzled out. Bergin had a shot on goal from a free which was saved over while Mossy Keyes and Eoin Gaughan (65') ended the game's scoring. Camross will play The Harps while Portlaoise take on Abbeyleix in the quarter-finals in two weeks' time.