Portlaoise’s powerful signal on road to Leinster final

Portlaoise (Laois) 5-12 Emmet Óg (Longford) 0-11: Quite the statement from the Laois champions.

Longford may have no pedigree in provincial club football — they have yet to provide a representative in the final, let alone claim a senior Leinster title — but Emmet Óg took the game to Portlaoise from the off and still finished 16 points adrift.

It was a perfect day for football: dry and with barely a wisp of wind to trouble the flags that stood limp around the ground and the open approach adopted by both sides all added up to make for an entertaining game that lost its status as a contest for almost the last half an hour.