O'Donnell rescues a point for Portlaoise after physical rematch with champions Portarlington

A rematch of the 2021 county final took place in Rathleague on Friday evening, as Portlaoise looked to exact some form of revenge following their defeat to the two-in-a-row county champions, Portarlington, last November.

Martin Murphy's men had won both of their opening matches. Portarlington had beaten both of their neighbours in O'Dempsey's and Courtwood, while Portlaoise had also recorded two victories over Courtwood and Ballyroan Abbey.

The two teams played out a hard, physical game of football here with plenty of scuffles emerging in the second half. Portarlington must have thought they had won it near the end when Colm Murphy swung over a free, only for Portlaoise to rescue a draw with the last kick of the game through a Kieran O’Donnell free.

Portlaoise 0-8 

Portarlington 0-8

Portlaoise played with the advantage of the wind for the first half in Rathleague, and they got off to a bright start here. Midfielder Conor Boyle kicked a lovely long ball into full-forward Kieran O’Donnell, and O’Donnell caught well before offloading to Damon Larkin who split the posts.

David Seale was a welcome addition back to the Portlaoise line-up here, as he started at wing-back. Seale played a stunning, inch-perfect cross field pass to Ross Brennan, and Brennan fired over the bar.

The in-form Kieran O’Donnell kicked Portlaoise’s third point, as he cut in before swinging over. Portarlington got on the scoreboard through a Colm Murphy free, and Murphy landed another free minutes later to leave just one between the teams.

David Holland struck a booming long-range score between the posts to put Portlaoise ahead by two once more. Jake Foster responded for Portarlington, as he turned on to his weaker right boot and curled over a nice point.

Kieran O’Donnell used the wind to his advantage by curling over a free off the ground from a difficult angle. Portarlington grabbed the last score of the half, with Stephen O’Neill striking between the uprights to leave his side trailing 0-4 to 0-5 at the interval.

Portarlington midfielder, Sean Michael Corcoran, proceeded to level the sides upon the restart with a sublime score from a distance. However, they were dealt a blow minutes later when Stuart Mulpeter received a black card for a late hit on Conor Boyle, who had to be forced off through injury.

That challenge seemed to spark a bit more tension into the contest, as both teams got to know each other well with a number of scuffles emerging. Colm Murphy would place over the next score from a placed ball to give the county champions a slender lead.

Kieran O’Donnell hit back for Portlaoise with two frees of his own to hand ‘The Town’ the initiative once more. There were barely any sniffs at goal in this one, but Portarlington did come close near the end when Stuart Mulpeter, who returned from his sin-bin, went through on goal. However, Mulpeter dragged his effort to the left and wide.

 Jake Foster held his nerve to level the sides, as he dropped over a free. Then Portarlington must have thought they had won it when Colm Murphy curled over another placed ball, only for Kieran O’Donnell to equalise with the last kick of the game.

PORTLAOISE

Scorers: Kieran O’Donnell 0-6 (0-4 frees), Ross Brennan and David Holland 0-1 each

Team: Graham Brody; Michael Dowling, Aidan McGovern, Gary Saunders; Paddy Downey, Chris Finn, David Seale; Conor Boyle, Shane Smyth; Colin McEvoy, Damon Larkin, Josh Hogan; David Holland, Kieran O'Donnell, Ross Brennan. Subs: Ben Brennan for Boyle (38 mins, inj), Michael Culliton for Hogan (47 mins), DJ White for R Brennan (49 mins), Oisin Fitzpatrick for Seale (55 mins)

PORTARLINGTON

Scorers: Colm Murphy 0-4 frees, Jake Foster 0-2 (0-1 free), Stephen O’Neill and Sean Michael Corcoran 0-1 each

Team: Jack Hynes; Cathal Bennett, Scott Osborne, Mikey Bennett; Stuart Mulpeter, Robert Pigott, Colin Slevin; Sean Michael Corcoran, Keith Bracken; Stephen O’Neill, Ronan Coffey, Adam Ryan; Jake Foster, Colm Murphy, Jordan Fitzpatrick. Subs: Conor McCarthy for Osborne (47 mins), Cathal Ryan for M Bennett (57 mins)

REFEREE: John Flynn (The Rock)