'It was just a collective off day'- Portarlington GAA's Pat Roe after his side's defeat to Athy

Portarlington were unfortunately knocked out of the AIB Leinster Club SFC at the semi-final stage on Saturday as Athy eased past them in Newbridge.

Manager Pat Roe began by speaking about his side’s slow start, as they trailed 0-15 to 0-2 at the break.

“It wasn't in the script for us. Obviously, we gave ourselves a mountain to climb in the first-half. We've been starting slowly all year and I suppose a good team like Athy was going to punish us,” he said.

The Laois champions played into a strong breeze in the first half and had a handful of goal chances, including a Colm Murphy penalty that was saved by James Roycroft.

“I think when you are sort of under the cosh, playing into a breeze like that, we had the penalty opportunity and we had a couple of goal chances, that we didn't take, and you need every one of those,” Roe said.

Portarlington got the first five points of the second period, but a 38th-minute black card for Sean Byrne halted all momentum and allowed Athy to get a few scores down the other end.

“They were, and I think the black card was a big factor as well. We had a lot of momentum. Whether we would have closed the gap or not, we would have needed goals to close the gap. We really didn't get a sniff of it in the second-half in terms of a goal. But with that breeze, if we had of kept pegging away with two-pointers, we might have made them think a bit more,” he said.

Athy dominated the skies in Newbridge and, if they didn’t win the clean ball, they had lads under the breaking ball.

“I know they targeted that; it's been their strong point all year. And we targeted that as a place if we could get 50 per cent, but we only got 33 per cent from our own kick-outs in the first half, and that's where the problem lay,” he added.

Roe admitted that a goal or two, especially Colm Murphy’s penalty, would have maybe given his side some sort of momentum.

“No, nothing and we needed them to get some momentum. The penalty, at the time it came, would have got us a bit of momentum back as well, but it wasn't to be,” Roe said.

The Portarlington fans, like they had done in Drogheda, took over the stand in Newbridge. Roe thanked them for their amazing support.

“They were fantastic. Same as they were up in Drogheda, they were absolutely fantastic. I know the players couldn't ask for any more, and I certainly couldn't ask for any more of the community. They got behind the team totally. Look, we're disappointed that we didn't give them more to shout about. We fully expected to win today, it wasn't to be, though,” he commented.

Roe didn’t confirm or deny whether he’ll return as manager next year.

“I'll take a bit of time to think about it now, I’ll make no decisions now. It's not a good time to make a decision after a defeat, so I won't. I'll just take a bit of time,” Roe said.

The Portarlington manager was full of admiration for the players and said he’s “never met a bunch like them”.

“Unbelievable, I couldn't say any more about them. I've been in the game a long time, and I just never met a bunch like them, they’re incredible,” he said.

Roe ended the interview by reflecting on a season that saw them win a fifth Laois SFC in six years.

“It always is, and we're up there to be knocked down. Look, we got a bit of momentum after two wins in Leinster, and we wanted to ride that momentum. It didn't happen for us today, it was just a collective off day,” he concluded.

READ NEXT: Portarlington's Leinster Club SFC campaign ends at the hands of Athy in Newbridge