Champions Portarlington come out on top of battle with Emo to return to county final

LAOIS SHOPPING CENTRE SENIOR FOOTBALL CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI FINAL

Martin Murphy's Portarlington survived a real war of attrition in O'Moore Park with Emo, as poor conditions at this time of the year meant this one was never going to be the easiest game on the eye.

Emo, who were missing Padraig Kirwan from the start due to army duties, suffered another blow after only a few minutes of this one. Their midfielder, Finbarr Crowley, was forced off and that made Emo's task all the more difficult.

To be fair to John Strong's side, they kept with Portarlington for fourty-five minutes of this one due to some tenacious tackling and bad Portarlington wides.

Portarlington led by three points after half-time, and didn't really kick on in the second quarter, Emo hung around and only trailed by three at the second water break as well, but Portarlington finished the better team and came out six-point winners in the end.

Portarlington 0-10

Emo 0-4

The Emo men were first on the scoreboard in the second game of this double header in O'Moore Park, as full-forward Jack Owens found the target for a point.

The county champions, Portarlington, replied to level proceedings in the next possession though. Paddy O'Sullivan spotted the run of Jake Foster inside and played a lovely ball to him. Foster opted to take the mark and slot between the posts.

Foster popped over a free from close-range minutes later to put his team ahead, while Emo were dealt a hammer blow as midfielder Finbarr Crowley was forced off injured after only five minutes. With Padraig Kirwan already out due to being away with the army, Emo were now down two of their best players.

Colm Murphy knocked over a free for Portarlington from the other side, but that would be the last score that either side would manage over the course of the first quarter. 

Emo had Shane Murphy back sweeping and that made sure it was difficult for Portarlinton to make much headway up front. However, when Emo did manage to secure possession, they struggled to keep it for long as the losses of Padraig Kirwan and Finbarr Crowley's were being felt.

Colm Murphy scored a point straight upon the resumption of play, as he quickly made room on to his right to fire between the posts. It was all Portarlington for the next couple of minutes, but they were wasteful in front of goal and kept Emo in the contest.

Martin Murphy's men did put together one move where they carved out a goal chance. Ronan Coffey, David Murphy and Rioghan Murphy were all involved in a move that saw Adam Ryan go through on goals, but Niall Gorman denied him brilliantly. 

Scott Obsorne did come up from his goals to slot over the resulting 45', but that would be all Portarlington managed for the rest of the half. Emo tackled ferociously, just like they did against Graiguecullen the last day, and they grabbed a crucial point just before half-time.

Cathal Bennett was adjudged by referee Des Cooney to have tugged Paddy Hosey's jersey as he was trying to make a run inside, and Paul Lawlor came up to tap over the free. Emo trailed 0-2 to 0-5 at half-time, but John Strong's management team must have known that a huge second half was required to pull this one out of the fire.

Portarlington had another good goal chance straight after half-time, as Jake Foster slipped in Colm Murphy, but his effort was well smothered by Niall Gorman in the Emo goals.

Foster landed a point from a placed ball for Portarlington's first score of the second half, before his brother David Murphy put over another, this one from play.

However, Emo refused to give up. They had a goal opportunity themselves, as Darren Strong unleashed a shot, but Portarlington corner-back Cathal Bennett did superbly to block him. Paddy Hosey did manage to point over the rebound though.

Portarlington didn't kick on and that meant Emo were still well in this one by the time the second water break arrived. Half-time substitute Evan Costello made an impression after he was substituted on, as Costello earned a free close to goals which he placed over to leave just three between them again.

Portarlington took complete control of this semi-final in the final quarter though, as they kicked three points and kept Emo scoreless down the other end. Foster (free), Stephen O'Neill and Colm Murphy (free) raised white flags to ensure Portarlington would set up a tasty showpiece against Portlaoise in two weeks' time.

PORTARLINGTON

Scorers: Jake Foster 0-4 (0-3 frees, 0-1 mark), Colm Murphy 0-3 (0-2 frees), Scott Osborne 0-1 45', David Murphy 0-1, Stephen O'Neill 0-1

Team: Scott Osborne; Cathal Bennett, Diarmuid Bennett, Alex Mohan; Stuart Mulpeter, Robbie Pigott, Paddy O'Sullivan; Keith Bracken, Sean Byrne; Adam Ryan, Ronan Coffey, Rioghan Murphy; Jake Foster, David Murphy, Colm Murphy. Subs: Stephen O'Neill for Byrne (24 mins, blood), Byrne for O'Neill (27 mins), Stephen O'Neill for Coffey (45 mins), Colin Slevin for R Murphy (49 mins), Jordan Fitzpatrick for Ryan (49 mins), Sean Michael Corcoran for D Murphy (54 mins), Eoin McCann for C Murphy (60 mins)

EMO

Scorers: Jack Owens 0-1, Paul Lawlor 0-1 free, Evan Costello 0-1, Paddy Hosey 0-1

Team: Niall Gorman; Paddy Dunne, James O'Rourke, Liam Crowley; Cian Langford, Sean Greene, Tommy Fennelly; Finbarr Crowley, Darren Strong; David Gorman, Nigel Murphy, Shane Murphy; Paul Lawlor, Jack Owens, Paddy Hosey. Subs: Eibhan Joyce for F Crowley (4 mins, inj), Evan Costello for Joyce (HT), Eibhan Joyce for Fennelly (49 mins), 

REFEREE: Brendan Hickey (Graiguecullen)

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