Portlaoise come alive after the break to get the better of Clonaslee/St Manman’s

Portlaoise 2-17 

Clonaslee/St Manman’s 0-15 

PORTLAOISE recovered from a sluggish opening half to launch their Laois Shopping Centre Senior Football Championship campaign with victory over Clonaslee/St Manman’s in Annanough.

Trailing by three points at the interval, The Town looked well below their usual standards during the opening 30 minutes as Clonaslee/St Manman’s dictated proceedings. However, a dramatic improvement after the restart transformed the contest, with Portlaoise’s pace, movement and attacking intent proving too much for their opponents as they powered into the winners’ section of Round 2.

Clonaslee/St Manman’s could also reflect on a number of missed chances before the break. They were the better side for long spells and might easily have established a more substantial advantage before Portlaoise eventually found top gear.

The opening exchanges belonged entirely to Clonaslee/St Manman’s, who burst out of the traps to build a 0-3 to 0-0 lead inside the first three minutes. Cathal Lee, who came into the starting 15 in place of James McRedmond, got them moving with an excellent two-point effort before Cian Callaghan added another score.

Emmet Moloney eventually settled Portlaoise with their opening point, while Damon Larkin threatened a goal only to see his powerful effort turned over the crossbar by goalkeeper Oisin Keating.

Clonaslee/St Manman’s continued to dominate and stretched their lead with five unanswered points. Lee added another two-pointer before converting a free, while Niall Corbet and substitute John Rigney also registered to leave them comfortably ahead, 0-8 to 0-2, after 20 minutes.

DJ White and Kevin Swayne briefly halted the momentum, but James Dunne quickly restored a five-point cushion. Portlaoise almost found a lifeline when Ben Dempsey’s goal bound effort was brilliantly diverted onto the upright by Keating before the danger was cleared.

White added another point for The Town, only for Rigney to tee up Bob Downey for Clonaslee/St Manman’s latest reply. Scores from Moloney and Josh Hogan before the interval reduced the arrears to three, leaving Portlaoise with plenty of work to do at 0-10 to 0-7 behind.

Whatever was said at half-time had the desired effect as Portlaoise emerged with far greater urgency. Ben O’Connor, White and Moloney all found the target inside the opening four minutes of the second period to wipe out the deficit completely.

Downey and Rigney briefly nudged Clonaslee/St Manman’s back in front, but it proved to be their final spell in the lead. In between those scores, Larkin was again denied by Keating after latching onto a superb delivery from Colin McEvoy.

Portlaoise finally edged ahead in the 41st minute through a slice of good fortune. Darren Brennan’s attempt at a point dropped dangerously into the square, where O’Connor reacted quickest to flick the ball to the net. Although Darragh Scully immediately levelled matters, the contest quickly swung decisively in Portlaoise’s favour as they reeled off 1-7 without response.

Kieran O’Donnell ignited the scoring run before Brennan converted a two-point free after a breach. During the incident, Clonaslee/St Manman’s maor uisce Jack Owens received a red card from referee Seamus Mulhare following an exchange with linesman Johnnie Brennan.

O’Connor added another point before Portlaoise struck a second goal, with Larkin bursting through the centre and setting up White to finish emphatically to the net. Substitute Ricky Maher also got on the scoresheet, while further efforts from White and Hogan, from a free, extended the margin to ten points entering the closing stages.

Corbet landed a late two-point free for Clonaslee/St Manman’s, but it served only as a consolation score as Portlaoise completed an impressive second half turnaround to record a comfortable eight-point success.

SCORERS:

Portlaoise: DJ White 1-4, Ben O’Connor 1-2, Emmet Maloney 0-3, Darren Brennan (1tpf) and Josh Hogan (0-1f) 0-2 each, Kevin Swayne, Damon Larkin, Ricky Maher and Kieran O’Donnell 0-1 each.

Clonaslee/St Manman’s: Cathal Lee 0-5 (2tp, 0-1f), Niall Corbet 0-3 (1 tpf), John Rigney and Bob Downey 0-2 each, James Dunne, Cian Callaghan and Darragh Scully 0-1 each.

PORTLAOISE: Conor Browne; Gary Whelan, David Seale, Ben Dempsey; Ben O’Connor, Ben Reddin, Emmet Maloney; Ciaran McEvoy, Kevin Swayne; Josh Hogan, Colin McEvoy, Darren Brennan; DJ White, Damon Larkin, Kieran O’Donnell.

Subs: Ricky Maher for O’Donnell (53m), Conor Raggett for Seale (55m), Benny Carroll for McEvoy (57m).

CLONASLEE/ST MANMAN’S: Oisín Keating; Diarmuid Conroy, Adam McDermott, DJ Callaghan; James Dunne, Darragh Scully, Noah Flynn; Cian Callaghan, Will Young; Bob Downey, Ger Reilly, Manus Dunne; Niall Corbet, Cian Conroy, Cathal Lee.

Subs: John Rigney for C Callaghan (18m), James McRedmond for Conroy (55m).

Referee: Seamus Mulhare (The Heath)