South Leinster Colleges Senior Football League Shield Final
South Leinster Colleges Senior Football League Shield champions – Portlaoise CBS
Portlaoise CBS 10-12
Coláiste Íosagáin Portarlington 1-5
By Mark Comerford
PORTLAOISE CBS have won the South Leinster Colleges Senior Football League Shield after a hugely dominant win over Coláiste Íosagáin Portarlington. Captain, Conor Brown, David Costello, Cian Nolan and Conor Buggie were the outstanding performers, but the entire Portlaoise team put in a serious shift.
The sides met on the college grounds in Portarlington on a sunny Tuesday morning for what turned out to be a surprisingly one-sided final. It was a point apiece early on but Portlaoise scored three goals in three minutes in an ominous start to the game.
David Miller got the ball rolling with an incredible run up the field, presenting the ball on a plate for Costello who finished from close range. Costello then turned provider for the second goal, scored by Nolan, before Cian Raggett completed the hat-trick after some great work from Colm McEvoy.
Coláiste Íosagáin looked to be getting to grips with the game as they slotted a couple of scores, but Portlaoise were in for goal number four in the 15th minute. McEvoy again burst through from midfield and delivered it perfectly for Brown to open his account. The visitors added four points to that for a lead of 14 points after just twenty minutes.
Coláiste Íosagáin found the net themselves in the 21st minute when Joe Finn weaved his way beyond three defenders and picked out Darragh Lawrence for a well-worked goal. Less than a minute later, however, Costello wriggled away from his man to drive the ball into the roof of the net. 5-6 to 1-4 at the break.
Considering the cushion they had, the second half performance from Portlaoise was simply phenomenal. Not only did they hold Coláiste Íosagáin to a single point, but they also added another 5-6 to their tally, doubling their score from the first half to finish on a whopping 10 goals and 12 points.
The first green flag of the half went up after just two minutes thanks to a great individual goal from Buggie. Then with 15 minutes left, Portlaoise scored three goals on the trot, including a second of the day for Nolan and two from Brown, completing the captain’s hat-trick.
Substitute, Jack Ahern completed the scoring, getting his side’s tenth goal with the final action of the game. Afterwards, referee, Pat Moran presented the shield to Brown and the victorious Portlaoise CBS.
SCORERS
Portlaoise CBS: Conor Brown 3-2 (0-2 45s), David Costello 2-3 (0-1f), Cian Nolan 2-2, Conor Buggie 1-3, Jack Aherne 1-1, Cian Raggett 1-0, James Devoy 0-1
Coláiste Íosagáin Portarlington: Luke McEvoy 0-4 (0-3fs), Darragh Lawrence 1-0, Joe Finn 0-1
PORTLAOISE CBS: Ben Dillon (Stradbally); Sean O’Sullivan (Portlaoise), David Miller (Annanough), Dylan Keyes (The Heath); Cian Raggett (Portlaoise), Jack Darcy (Annanough), PJ Larkin (The Heath); Conor Brown (Portlaoise), Colin McEvoy (Portlaoise); Cian Nolan (Park/Ratheniska), James Devoy (Stradbally), Conor Buggie (Stradbally); Ben Doyle (The Heath), David Costello (Emo), Josh Finn (Portlaoise).
Subs: Paddy Reddin (Portlaoise) for O’Sullivan (35m), Jack Aherne (Clonad) for Devoy (46m), John McNamara (Portlaoise) for Costello (46m)
COLÁISTE ÍOSAGÁIN PORTARLINGTON: Dylan Quick (O’Dempsey’s); Alex Broderick, Eimhin O’Neill (O’Dempsey’s), Finn Hassett (Portarlington); Danny Gorman (Portarlington), Jake Nolan (Gracefield), Cian Gorman (Portarlington); Josh Kelly (Portarlington), Darragh McEvoy (Portarlington); Killian Duffy (Portarlington), Sean Bennett (Portarlington), Darragh Lawrence (Gracefield); Joe Finn (O’Dempsey’s), Luke McEvoy (Portarlington), Liam Burke (Courtwood). Subs: John Cooney (Portarlington) for O’Neill (15m), Ryan Phelan (O’Dempsey’s) for Bennett (27m, inj), Jack Murphy (Portarlington) for Kelly (35m), Rian Brereton (O’Dempsey’s) for Burke (39m), Lorcan Coleman (Portarlington) for Lawrence (39m), Conor Flanagan (Portarlington) for Hassett (45m), Killian Duff (Portarlington) for C. Gorman (45m), Jamie Byrne (Portarlington) for Finn (45m), Hugh Connolly (Portarlington) for D. McEvoy (46m), Ben McCann (O’Dempsey’s) for Quick (50m)
Referee: Pat Moran (Graiguecullen)
