Portlaoise march on after dour encounter

PORTLAOISE’S pursuit of a record five Laois SFC titles in-a-row cleared its latest hurdle at the weekend, as they saw off rivals Arles-Kilcruise by three points on Saturday night to book a semi-final place.

In a niggly affair, a fraca between both management teams on the sideline just before half-time was the main talking point.

Portlaoise led by 0-4 to 0-2 after that scrappy first-half, but a goal in the second-half from Tipperary footballer Hugh Coghlan spurred Portlaoise on, and that score would prove crucial as they claimed a 1-9 to 0-9 victory.