Courtwood and Portarlington must do it all again as final ends in stalemate
Referee Seamus Mulhare blows for full time in the Senior Football Championship final at Laois Hire O'Moore Park on Sunday and the replay is fixed for Sunday 25 October Photo: Denis Byrne
PORTARLINGTON and Courtwood will have to go at it again after an enthralling contest at Laois Hire O’Moore Park on Sunday ended all square.
The sides will meet for a replay at the same venue on Saturday 25 October at 6.30pm. The replay fixture was due to take place on Saturday evening next but couldn’t be fixed for then due to Rob Tyrell’s involvement with the Camross senior hurlers in their county final the following day.
Making their first-ever appearance in a Laois SFC final, Courtwood began brightly, firing over the opening two points through Niall Donoher and captain Sean O’Flynn. Jake Foster responded with Portarlington’s first score before Courtwood were temporarily reduced to 14 men when Jake Doyle received a black card for a rugby-style tackle on Paddy O’Sullivan.
Moments later, Alan Kinsella was fouled, giving goalkeeper Matthew Byron the chance to open his tally from a placed ball. Just a minute on, Courtwood struck a huge blow, Ryan Little’s shot crashed off the crossbar, and Paul O’Flynn gathered the rebound. Though he was fouled as he shot, the ball looped over Luke O’Reilly and into the net. After consulting his umpires, referee Seamus Mulhare awarded the goal.
Courtwood were dominating the middle third and causing chaos on Portarlington’s kick-outs, but they failed to make their superiority count, hitting several wides and dropping efforts short into O’Reilly’s hands. Port seized on that wastefulness, producing a devastating spell of 1-4 without reply. Paddy O’Sullivan pointed before Jake Foster slotted past Byron one-on-one, and Colm Murphy followed with a brilliant two-pointer from the terrace side to edge Port ahead for the first time. Darragh Galvin then fisted over to make it 1-5 to 1-3 after 21 minutes.
Ryan Little replied for Courtwood, but scores from Foster and Ronan Coffey stretched Port’s lead again. A poor Port kick-out almost gifted Courtwood a second goal when O’Reilly’s short pass was intercepted by Little, who set up Kinsella, only for Robbie Pigott to produce a heroic block. On the stroke of half-time, Sean Byrne repeated the feat, denying Paul O’Flynn another goal chance.
At the break, Portarlington led 1-7 to 1-4, though Courtwood would have been frustrated to trail after converting just five of their 18 first-half shots.
Substitute Mark O’Halloran made an immediate impact after the restart, reducing the deficit within seconds. However, Courtwood were soon hit with a second black card as Paul O’Flynn was penalised for a foul on Rioghan Murphy. Points from Paddy O’Sullivan and Ronan Coffey put Portarlington four clear with 37 minutes played.
Courtwood refused to buckle, and two long-range frees from Byron brought them level before Colm Murphy again swung the momentum Portarlington’s way with a free and a superb two-pointer. Ryan Little trimmed the gap, but substitute Jordan Fitzpatrick replied to restore the three-point cushion.
Then came the dramatic finale. In the 57th minute, Alan Kinsella fisted over after reacting quickest to Sean O’Flynn’s saved shot, and moments later, Kinsella smashed the ball to the net to send the Courtwood supporters wild.
Portarlington weren’t done, Paddy O’Sullivan equalised with his third point in the 60th minute, and Rioghan Murphy edged them ahead deep into injury time.
But just as in the semi-final, Dylan Keane came to Courtwood’s rescue, splitting the posts to ensure a replay.
Both sides will probably feel like they should have won the championship on Sunday, but they’ll have to come back in two weeks’ time to decide whether the Jack Delaney Cup stays in Portarlington for the fifth time in six years or if it’ll reside in Courtwood for the first time in the club’s history.
Matthew Byron 0-5 (2 two-point frees, 0-1f), Alan Kinsella 1-1, Paul O'Flynn 1-0, Ryan Little 0-2, Niall Donoher, Cian Doyle, Sean O'Flynn and Mark O'Halloran 0-1 each.
Colm Murphy 0-5 (1 two-point free, 1 two-pointer, 0-1f), Jake Foster 1-2, Paddy O'Sullivan 0-3, Ronan Coffey 0-2, Rioghan Murphy, Darragh Galvin and Jordan Fitzpatrick 0-1 each.
Matthew Byron; Darragh McEvoy, Daniel Boland, Adam O’Halloran; Jake Doyle, Robbie Flynn, Eoghan Slattery; Sean O’Flynn, Robert Tyrell; Niall Dunne, Cian Doyle, Paul O’Flynn; Niall Donoher, Ryan Little, Alan Kinsella.
Mark O'Halloran for McEvoy (ht), Dylan Keane for J Doyle (48m), Michael Doyle for P O'Flynn (55m).
Luke O’Reilly; Mikey Bennett, Robbie Pigott, Curtis Lyons; Alex Mohan, Jason Moore, Patrick O’Sullivan; Keith Bracken, Sean Byrne; Darragh Slevin, Ronan Coffey, Rioghan Murphy; Colm Murphy, Darragh Galvin, Jake Foster.
Eoin McCann for Bracken (Blood, 45m-51m), Jordan Fitzpatrick for Slevin (47m).
Seamus Mulhare (The Heath)
