Late fade sees Portroe head for relegation battle

Gortnahoe/Glengoole 0-24

Portroe 1-18

Report: Michael Dundon in Templemore

A second successive defeat in the County Premier Intermediate Hurling Championship group 4 leaves Portroe facing the prospect of a relegation battle to preserve their second tier status.

At Templemore on Sunday, they faltered in the closing stages as last year’s beaten finalists Gortnahoe/Glengoole came from behind to hit five unanswered points and claim their first win in the group, bringing them back into the frame for a quarter-final spot.

It was a modest enough contest for much of the way and Portroe will be frustrated at how they faded late on in a free-ridden encounter. At the three quarter stage, following Sam Madden’s goal and two John Sheedy points, which pushed them 1-15 to 0-16 clear, they looked on course for the victory that would revive their challenge for a qualifying spot but in the closing seven minutes plus injury time, they failed to raise a flag and duly paid the penalty.

Kevin O’Halloran did not start for Portroe but came on for the last quarter. Had he been available for the full hour, it might have tipped the scales in Port’s favour. That said, with John Sheedy’s radar working to perfection, they were full value for an interval lead of 0-13 to 0-10, Sheedy hitting seven of the points.

The sides were level, 0-6 each, after the first quarter, but Port finished the better. Keane Hayes hit nine of the Gortnahoe points, eight from frees, reflecting the Mid side’s shortage of other scoring options. John Sheedy recorded nine points for Portroe.

Portroe had a dreadful start to the second half as Gortnahoe scored six points without reply in eleven minutes to claim a 0-16 to 0-13 lead. The North lads were in trouble, but Sam Madden rallied them with a goal after 44 minutes to which John Sheedy promptly added two points to send them 1-15 to 0-16 clear.

The ball was now in Port’s court but over the next lively seven minutes they shared six points with their rivals, still holding their advantage but unable to further distance themselves from them.

Then came a late Gortnahoe surge, points from Darragh Maher and Brian Maher levelling before Darragh Maher nudged the Mid lads ahead (0-22 to 1-18) with four minutes left, plus added time. Both sides had chances from frees in a tense finish before Keane Hayes rounded off a man of the match performance for Gortnahoe with two further points, one from play,

So, Portroe now have a battle on their hands to steer clear of the relegation dog-fight, regardless of the outcome of their final group game with Lorrha. However, they showed enough resolve in this tussle to suggest that they can succeed. They will be disappointed at their failure to put this game to bed when leading in the closing stages, but they have the resources to redeem the situation and will be surely highly motivated for round three.

John Sheedy was their key man all through, scoring well both from frees and play. Sam Madden and Mark Gennery also did their bit in attack. Further back, Robert Byrne was strong at centre back with Michael Breen and Jack Moloney also to the fore.

It was a big win for Gortnahoe/Glengoole and one which owed much to Keane Hayes whose seventeen points was a phenomenal contribution. He did not lack support with Conor Gleeson, Kevin Slattery, Karl Campion and Darragh Maher all playing key roles. The challenge for them now is to drive on from here as they bid to reach the top flight for the first time in decades.

Player of the Match: Keane Hayes (Gortnahoe/Glengoole).

Gortnahoe/Glengoole: Timmy Dunne (6); Liam Hayes (6), David Nolan (6), Conor Gleeson (7); Martin Barnaville (0-1, 6), Kevin Slattery (7), Brian Maher (0-1, 6); Karl Campion (7), Jack Moore (0-1, 6); Adrian Maher (0-1, 6), Fionn Cleary (6), Darragh Maher (0-3, 7); Damian Corbett (6), Colm Guilfoyle (7), Keane Hayes (0-17, 14f, 9).

Subs: Phil Purcell (6) for Barnaville (48); Aidan Guilfoyle (6) for C Guilfoyle (48); Gearoid Fahey (6) for Corbett (50); David Lanigan (6) for Gleeson (54).

Portroe: Diarmuid Boyle (6); William Flood (6), Michael Breen (7), Adrian O’Halloran (6); Brian Keating (6), Robert Byrne (0-1, 7), Jack Moloney (0-1, 6); Justin Conroy (6), Jack O’Callaghan (6); Colm Gleeson (6), John Sheedy (0-11, 6f, 8), Andy Bourke (0-1, 6); Sam Madden (1-2, 7), Ian O’Donnell (6), Mark Gennery (0-2, 7).

Subs: Michael Creamer (6) for O’Donnell (45); Kevin O’Halloran (6) for Bourke (48).

Referee: John Cleary (Knockshegowna).