Stunning second half come back earns Portlaoise a place in the Plate semi-final

Provincial Towns Plate q/f 

Edenderry 19 

Portlaoise 28 

PORTLAOISE travelled to Coolavacoose on the Offaly/Kildare border on Friday night for their Leinster Towns Plate quarter-final, under the lights against Edenderry.

A sloppy opening ten minutes almost cost Portlaoise, but they regrouped to run in three converted tries back-to-back to get their noses in front midway through the second half. A fourth seven-pointer late on sealed the victory for Portlaoise as they booked their place in the final four of the Towns Plate.

Portlaoise came out on the right side of a seven-try thriller against Laois rivals Portarlington in Round 1, while Edenderry came through their opening-round game with a 17-6 win away to Enniscorthy. There was very little separating the sides in league-form this season, with Portlaoise finishing fourth in Division 2B while Edenderry finished third-from-bottom from Division 2A.

Edenderry carved Portlaoise open on the very first play to allow full back Stephen Gill to sail over in the corner after just two minutes. He took his time over the kick, but it paid off as he landed the conversion himself from out on the sideline.

Edenderry were causing problems with their kicks in behind, but it was a pair of missed tackles in the ninth minute that allowed number eight Shane Melia to charge through for a try almost untouched. The kick was far more straightforward this time as Gill added the extras.

Portlaoise responded perfectly, winning a lineout five metres from the Edenderry line with Darragh Davies eventually burrowing over for a try. A great conversion from Euan McCann cut the gap to seven.

The home side were back on the prowl straight from the restart, but Portlaoise were able to keep them at bay with some brilliant defending in their own 22, eventually clearing their lines. A penalty from halfway saw Portlaoise kick for the corner but this time they could not force their way over.

It was Edenderry's turn to defend midway in the second quarter and they were helped by Portlaoise letting a handful of scoring chances slip through their fingers. Head Coach Lar Hogan will be flabbergasted as to how his Portlaoise side were not at the very least level at the break, with Edenderry riding their luck to hold a 14-7 lead at half time.

It was more of the same after the restart, with Portlaoise camped inside the Edenderry half for the first ten minutes of the second half without managing to get points on the board.

The visitors continued to kick for the corners and finally got some purchase from their numerous attacking lineouts in the 53rd, when inside centre Glen Connolly carved his way over for Portlaoise’s second try. McCann's second conversion was even more impressive than his first as he curled the ball over with his right boot to draw the sides level.

Portlaoise were playing advantage when a delightful pop pass from replacement scrum half Mark Kelly picked out his number eight, with Cormac Rigney forcing his way between two defenders before grounding the ball to give his side the lead for the first time. McCann converted to put Portlaoise seven in front with 20 minutes left on the clock.

The home side sprang into action from the restart, stretching the Portlaoise defence from sideline to sideline before winger Richard Gill found a pocket of space to over for a try in the corner. The conversion dragged just wide to keep Portlaoise two points in front.

Portlaoise were under the cosh again after that but some more heroic defending meant they maintained their slim lead heading into the closing five minutes of the game. The visitors found their way back into the Edenderry 22 with the clock ticking down and were kept out only by a string of penalties from the home team.

With not one but two men sent to the bin in quick succession, Edenderry eventually succumb to the pressure, with Sean Peters completing a man-of-the-match performance with the match-winning try in the 78th minute. McCann landed his fourth successful conversion to ensure Portlaoise left Coolavacoose as nine-point winners.

Portlaoise now have a home semi-final against the winners of Ashbourne and Newbridge.

SCORERS:

Edenderry: Stephen Gill (1 try, 2 cons), Shane Melia and Richard Gill (1 try each).

Portlaoise: Euan McCann (4 cons), Darragh Davies, Glen Connolly, Cormac Rigney and Sean Peters (1 try each).

EDENDERRY: Stephen Gill; Aidan Higgins, MJ Smyth, Niall Walsh, Richard Gill; Craig Thompson, Shay Brady; Graham Gorman, Shaun Donoghue, Dylan Casey; Ethan Cooney, Jordan Cooney; John O'Donnell, Ultan McIntyre, Shane Melia.

Replacements: Dean Coyne, Conor Mulligan, Jason Moore, Mark Bergin, Mark Kavanagh.

PORTLAOISE: Daniel Thornton; Iain Corrigan, Oisin Bennett, Glen Connolly, Dara Ramsbottom; Euan McCann, Jack Byrne; Aran Coiley, Ryan McEvoy, Joe Stevens; Michael Rigney, Sean Peters; Mark Sherlock, Darragh Davies, Cormac Rigney.

Replacements: Cian Coffey, Cathal Kenny, Paddy Coss, Mark Kelly, Daragh Phelan.

Referee: Joseph Lyons