Portlaoise’s powerful signal on road to Leinster final
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.
Both defences betrayed a vulnerability in the first quarter, but only one side was able to extract maximum punishment for it over the hour and it was a brace of goals in each half from the nine-in-a-row Laois kingpins that put this one to bed.
Seven scores on the bounce in the last quarter stretched the winning margin still further, with substitute Ciaran McEvoy providing the fifth goal in the midst of it all. Credit to the Longford followers, though, they stayed and stood and cheered their boys to the very end.
Portlaoise manager Malachy McNulty drew his squad into a huddle on the pitch afterwards and reminded them that no-one will remember who won a semi-final, regardless of how good the performance, if they fail to back it up in the decider.
It is difficult to imagine any of his players being in need of the reminder. This will be ‘The Town’s’ third final in four years and they came up short, against Ballymun Kickhams and St Vincent’s, in the other two. Still, this is one that they should cherish, at least for a day or two.
“It was very pleasing under the circumstances because we knew what a formidable opposition Emmet Óg were coming down,” said McNulty.
“They play a fantastic brand of football, but we honestly knew that if we played up to our standards, the standards we have been showing in training, then they wouldn’t have an answer for us. We spoke about it before the game: our biggest enemies are ourselves if we don’t turn up on the day and drive it home.”
Portlaoise did exactly that on this occasion. They pushed forward from the off. So did the Killoe side, and the underdogs caused a number of problems in the opening quarter with Michael Quinn directing matters from centre-back having featured for Ireland against Australia at Croke Park the evening before.
He faded thereafter, understandably.
Centre-forward Daniel Minmagh pounced for a pair of points during those opening salvos while full-forward Sean McCormack was busy trying to offer a focal point up front, though he was shadowed for most of the afternoon by the limpet-like Cahir Healy.
The problem was they were porous at the back and Portlaoise had players to make them pay. A brace of goals from Craig Rogers and Brian McCormack after seven and ten minutes left the visitors reeling, and prompted a more conservative approach with extra bodies drafted back.
It worked up to a point as they matched Portlaoise point for point from there to the interval, but the killing of the game was conducted ruthlessly soon after the restart with the superb Paul Cahillane poaching two beautifully worked goals in the space of another three-minute spell.
Some of the former Glasgow Celtic player’s movement was sublime in itself, but the service into him was silver as well. His first came from a beaut of a long diagonal ball by Brian Smith and the second germinated in a nifty one-two with McCormack.
There has been a sense that Portlaoise have existed on a mezzanine level in recent years — too good for the county, not quite good enough to match the Dublin superclubs — but this was a performance that will raise hopes ahead of the final in Tullamore in a fortnight’s time.
“We know a little bit about Ballyboden, we had a challenge with them a couple of months back,” said McNulty. “They are a strong outfit, strong runners, physically fit. Again, we’ll have to be at our best.
“This whole journey has been game by game. We’ll take a close look at them, their strengths and weaknesses, because every team has some if you look hard enough. Mostly though we’ll be looking at our own performance.”
It makes perfect sense after a performance like this.
P Cahillane (2-6, 0-4 frees); C Rogers (1-3, 0-2 frees); B McCormack (1-2); C McEvoy (1-0); B Mulligan (0-1).
S McCormack (0-5, 0-4 frees); D McGoldrick (0-2, 0-1 free); D Minmagh (0-2); P Kiernan and M Hughes (0-1 each).
G Brody; D Seale, C Healy, J Delaney; E Whelan, K Lillis, B Mulligan; C Boyle, D Cullen; G Dillon, C Rogers, C Dunphy; B McCormack, P Cahillane, B Smith.
R Maher for Dunphy (46); C McEvoy for Cullen (53); K Fitzpatrick for Smith (56); J Lynch for Rogers (black card, 57); C Finn for McCormack (60).
C Burns; L Hughes, P McCormack, D Keogh; J McCormack, M Quinn, C Farrelly; P Thompson, S Kiernan; D McGoldrick, D Mimnagh, P Kiernan; S Dowd, S McCormack, M Hughes.
E Clarke for McGoldrick (43); S Clarke for L Hughes (53); R Keogh for Dowd (59).
N Ward (Westmeath).
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
