“They’ve got so used to winning over the last two years. It’s hard to take." - Port boss Martin Murphy

Portarlington bowed out of the Leinster club championship on Saturday evening after a disappointing loss to Kilmacud Crokes. The Laois outfit started brilliantly, and they carried a four-point lead into half time.

However, Crokes fought back and a goal from Cian O’Connor just after the second water break put them into the ascendancy, and despite taking the lead again, Port were not able to cope with a fired up Crokes team who powered home in the end.

It has been a magical year for Portarlington GAA club, but it was a disappointing end to a two year unbeaten run. Speaking after the game, manager Martin Murphy admitted they were all bitterly disappointed.

“Bitterly disappointed is an understatement. They’re in the dressing room distraught. We were in a good place at half time. We had worked very, very hard in the first half and I thought we did an excellent job in the first half. We went in at half time four points up and in a comfortable position. I found we were relaxed but the legs started to run out on us in the second half.

“They’ve got so used to winning over the last two years. It’s hard to take. Coming to Croke Park here today was a big occasion and that makes that bit harder even. We died with our boots on. We’re happy in that regard but disappointed that we’re not going onto a Leinster final.”

As with many clubs throughout the country, Covid19 ripped through the Port team after the county final win against Portlaoise. Despite not using it as an excuse, Murphy admitted that it has been a tough few weeks for his side.

“I don’t want to be making excuses, we were beaten by a better team in the end. I think a number of lads started to get cramp which would be highly unusual for our team and co-incidentally there were all the guys who had Covid over the last three weeks.

“After the 2021 final, we had nine players who had Covid. They were all out of isolation on the Tuesday we played Loman’s and it didn’t seem to affect them that much that day. But today four of the players who had cramp all suffered Covid in the past three weeks. We can only put it down to that but I’m not using it as an excuse. We were beaten by a better team.”

It was an excellent Kilmacud Crokes side with a lot of inter-county experience. They showed their class in the second half especially, and despite having a quiet enough game, Paul Mannion stood up when it mattered most and kicked two crucial scores when the game was in the melting pot.

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Murphy referenced this afterwards and said it was a massive step up from what they are used to.

“He (Paul Mannion) kicked two massive points and it was really the difference. I know the goal was a sickener at the time, but we came back into it. He just seemed to keep putting a nail in our coffin any chance he got. Credit to him. It’s a different pace. You’re playing quality footballers. Let’s not be mistaken. Crokes have five or six lads with U-21 All Ireland medals and two All Stars at least. It’s a big step up coming out of Laois.

“I believe on another day if circumstances were different Port could have got over the line. I think over the year and particular the last day against Loman’s they have shown that there is a fighting spirit in this team.”

It’s been a long two years for Murphy and his Portarlington side. Looking ahead to the future, Murphy is looking forward to welcoming back a refreshed side after the Christmas break.

“We’ll bounce back from this. I think they’re a great bunch of lads. Things can go wrong, and they can bounce back from it. They showed great resilience today against a top-class team and a team I think will give the club championship a fair rattle this year. There’s nothing to say they can’t or won’t get back.

“There are one or two lads in there, talking about stepping away but they’re in their mid- 30s. You’d expect that after today, but they have Christmas to recover and recoup and it’s been a very industrious 14 or 15 weeks since we played Ballyfin in the Laois senior semi-final of 2020”.