Portarlington looking to dethrone St Joseph's in Division 1 football final

Portarlington and St Joseph's collide on Saturday evening with the three in a row County champions facing the current league champions.

The sides have clashed twice so far in Division 1 with Mick Dempsey's St Joseph's team holding an unbeaten record against Anthony Cunningham's side. Their most recent clash on June 9 was in the Winner' section which saw the game end level as a late Eoghan O'Flaherty 45' snatched a draw for the Kellyville outfit. Their other game came back in the second round of the league with St Joseph's recording a comfortable nine-point victory in McCann Park.

This league campaign has been a far more positive experience for Portarlington as in last year's Division 1, they reached the winners' section but failed to win any of their three games. That was soon forgotten about as Portarlington powered through to capture their third successive Laois Senior Football Championship.

St Joseph's come into the game looking to lift the Laois Shopping Centre ACFL Division 1 trophy for the second successive year after their success over Graiguecullen in 2022 in Laois Hire O'Moore Park.

Anthony Cunningham will be looking to add another trophy to Portarlington's trophy cabinet as he looks to kick-start his Portarlington managerial tenure by claiming the Division 1 crown.

Portarlington v St Joseph's takes place on Saturday July 8 with a throw-in at 7.30pm in the LOETB Centre of Excellence.