Portarlington 9-12 Tullow
Portarlington’s winning run, which has seen them take twelve from twelve in the Leinster League this season, came to an abrupt end last Sunday in a dour Provincial Towns Cup tie in Tullow. Having fallen behind to an early penalty Port responded well to lead at the break but failed to take the crucial chances when they presented themselves in the second half.
Tullow were on the board just minutes in when a penalty converted from the half way line put them 0-3 up. Port came right back at them however and had a chance of their own but unfortunately Dan Kelly’s kick went astray. Port continued to press hard and made good ground through half breaks from Kelly and Pauric Maree while up front the scrum was holding up well but the line out was failing to function properly with an early injury to Stephen Oakley being a major loss. Port were now looking the better team in open play and in the tight they were driving their opponents off ball all over the place, forcing numerous turnovers and seeing Tullow concede a string of penalties. Just before the break Tullow eventually lost a man to the sin bin for repeated offences at the breakdown while Kelly took full advantage of anything within kicking range with three penalties leaving Port lead 9-3 at the interval.
Port came out strong in the second half looking to take advantage of their extra man and they created two good try scoring opportunities but unfortunately their decision making let them down at the crucial stage and both chances went abegging. Tullow buoyed by their defensive efforts and now restored to fifteen men came hard at Port and looked to constantly pin them back with long probing kicks into the Port half. Port were struggling to clear their lines and got drawn into the tight sort of game, far more suited to Tullow’s bigger pack, that they did not want to play. To their credit they defended their line well even under the fiercest of pressure, with some big hits from Kelly, Billy Walsh and the excellent Declan Henessey stopping Tullow in their tracks time and again. Unfortunately for Port however under the relentless Tullow pressure they conceded three kickable penalties late in the half, which when converted left them in arrears on a 9-12 scoreline.
So with Ports cup hopes quashed for another year they are now left with little time to dwell on this loss as they must gear up for a crucial League clash away to promotion rivals Clondalkin next weekend, while Tullow look forward to the second round draw.
Team: David Murphy, Ross Doyle, Niall Slattery, Pauric Maree, Paddy Hyland, Dan Kelly, Paul Mannion, Kevin Kennedy, Colm Dowling, Darren Bracken, Hugh Emerson, Stephen Oakley, Billy Walsh, Declan Henessey, Mark Petriw
Subs: Joander Brazon for Oakley, Chris Ryan for Emerson