Cunningham and Fitzpatrick to the fore for Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe against Portlaoise

Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe are through to the Laois Shopping Junior Hurling Championship final after a good second half display saw them overcome Portlaoise at the LOETB Centre of Excellence on Thursday evening.

Matt Cunningham was the key man for the winners, finishing with an impressive 11 points as Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe secured a nine-point victory and moved to within one game of an immediate return to the intermediate grade.

Relegated last year, Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe have responded impressively in this year’s championship. They came through Group B with a perfect record, defeating Camross, The Harps and Rathdowney-Errill to finish at the summit and earn a place in the semi-finals.

Portlaoise, meanwhile, progressed from Group A in second position and were their opponents for a place in the Thursday’s semi-final. The difficult weather conditions made for a testing evening, with persistent rain leaving the surface heavy and making clean possession difficult for both teams.

Cunningham opened the scoring from a free after Portlaoise were penalised for throwing the ball, before Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe went close to finding the net. Conor Fitzpatrick drove forward and created the opening for Aaron Fitzpatrick, but Eoghan Lonergan produced an excellent save.

The Town eventually got off the mark after 10 minutes when Eoghan Nealon converted, and the Portlaoise forward then added a sideline cut before landing a free to put his side 0-3 to 0-1 ahead.

Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe responded well and gradually took control of the contest. Cunningham added two further frees, while Conor Fitzpatrick and David McEvoy also split the posts as they moved back in front.

Nealon converted another free before Conor Fitzpatrick replied at the opposite end, leaving Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe three points clear at the interval on a scoreline of 0-7 to 0-4.

Portlaoise attempted to stay in touch after the restart, with Nealon adding another free and Eoin Carey also getting his name on the scoresheet. Cunningham kept his side ahead by converting two frees.

Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe began to pull away soon after as Cunningham added another point before Conor Fitzpatrick struck twice in quick succession to extend the advantage to six.

Nealon briefly halted the Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe momentum, but the winners finished the contest with a flourish.

Cunningham took over once again, registering four unanswered points to put the outcome beyond doubt. His first point from play was particularly impressive, finding the range from the sideline and drawing a big reaction from the Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe crowd.

The number 11 added three more scores before the final whistle to bring his personal tally to 11 points and cap an outstanding individual performance.

Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe can now look forward to a Junior Hurling Championship final meeting with Castletown, who maintained their own perfect record by defeating Camross in the other semi-final.

FINAL SCORE

Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe 0-16

Portlaoise 0-7

SCORERS— Park-Ratheniska/Timahoe: Matt Cunningham 0-11 (0-9 frees), Conor Fitzpatrick 0-4, David McEvoy 0-1. Portlaoise: Eoghan Nealon 0-6 (0-4 frees, 0-1 sideline), Eoin Carey 0-1.

PARK-RATHENISKA/TIMAHOE: Evan O’Connor; David Duggan, Danny Brennan, Brian Fingleton; Marc Ramsbottom, Eoin Shortall, Michael Brennan; Tom Fingleton, Aaron Fitzpatrick; Enda Shortall, Matt Cunningham, Colm Lalor; Paul Byrne, Conor Fitzpatrick, David McEvoy. Subs: Gavin Tynan for Byrne (20 mins, inj), Sean Tynan for McEvoy (42 mins), Damien O’Connor for Lalor (54 mins), Dinny Troy for B Fingleton (62 mins).

PORTLAOISE: Eoghan Lonergan; Ryan Scully, Conor Ging, John Og Hanniffy; Eoin Carey, Chris Lynch, Sean Powders; Shane Walsh, Lorcan Duff; Eoghan Nealon, Jamie Keenan, Niall Carey; Ronan O’Sullivan, Mark Stritch, Cormac Keegan. Subs: Sean Devitt for Lynch (18 mins, inj), Kevin O’Neill for Stritch (24 mins, inj), Eoin Carey for O’Sullivan (36 mins), Keith Murphy for Devitt (50 mins).

Referee: Paul Dunne (Ballyfin)