Portlaoise proved too strong for Palatine in the opening round of the AIB Leinster Club senior championship in Carlow on Sunday afternoon. The Portlaoise senior champions had less than 24 hours to recover having beaten Emo in Laois on Saturday night but were able to carry the momentum to Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday afternoon.
In a low scoring first half, Portlaoise held a one point lead 0-5 to 0-4 at the break but turning in to the last quarter they had stretched that lead to five points. A Shane O’Neill goal gave Palatine hope but two further points from Portalaoise closed out the game giving the Laois senior champions a four point victory on a 0-15 to 1-08 scoreline.
In the earlier throw-in, a neat brand of football from Grange saw the junior champions brush aside the challenge from Round Towers of Lusk in their Leinster championship clash. With a three point lead at the break, Goals from Paddy McCall and Niall Byrne extended Grange’s lead in the the second half, keeping Lusk to just two points in the second half. A late goal from Ciaran Pender put the icing on the cake to run out the game 3-12 to 1-06 winners.
The result sets up a clash with Barrow House of Laois in Netwatch Cullen Park on Sunday 8 November.