Portarlington 50-19 Clane: Porous start proves to be the difference

A poor start put paid to Clane’s ambitions to topple the unbeaten league leaders on Sunday 30th January, but the performance in the remaining three quarters of the game will give them plenty of encouragement for the run in to the season.

The beginning of the match was the stuff of nightmares for the visitors. Adam Kelly opened the scoring after a slick backline move, Portarlington’s offloading game breaking down the Clane defence. Ross Kelly went over soon after, using his size and strength to burst through the defensive line and storm over. The home side continued to exert their dominance through Jordan Fitzpatrick, who touched down twice in quick succession, having a fortunate bounce of the ball to thank for one of them. Dylan Stronge finished off a 15 minute flurry for his side, taking advantage of a gap in the ruck and showing great ball skills to give himself the space to get over.

It threatened to be a long day for Clane, but they stepped up and were galvanised by a tremendous tackle from Brian Jones to stop a certain try. This allowed them to finally get a foothold in the game, and advance into Portarlington territory for the first time. Joel Dyer proceeded to seize the initiative, rushing up quickly in defence. He got his hand to the ball and managed to sprint clear and open Clane’s account for the day.

Clane were having the better of the game, showing some excellent ball skills and stretching the Portarlington defence with their quick passing. James Devine was an exemplar of this style, and he was rewarded with a try for his efforts. Clane’s speed at the ruck had led them to the Portarlington 5 metre line, where they forced a penalty. Devine promptly tapped and ran, exposing the unset defence and crashing over the line. After such a bad start, Clane had a proper foothold in the game.

The home side came out with renewed focus in the second half, and set about putting Clane to the sword. They met a much more resolute defence however, which managed to rebuff multiple waves of attack. However, a howling wind meant that clearing kicks were not getting the distance needed, making it very difficult for Clane to escape the pressure. Eventually a Clane mistake came, with their opponents pouncing on a loose pass. Doyle exposed the scrambling defence and scored his second of the game.

The difficulty of kicking reared its head again soon after. Clane had missed a few good scoring opportunities, with the dancing feet of Matthew Betts-Symonds almost allowing one of his teammates in. Portarlington were easily able to keep the ball upfield thanks to the conditions though, and a poor clearance from Clane allowed Kelly to score his second try in broken play. 

The visitors were determined to leave with something for their efforts, and the try scorer’s bonus was in their sights. Betts-Symonds again used his skill to open up the defence, and stayed aware to feed Jimmy McMahon on the run, who couldn’t be stopped. 

With a point in their sights, they laid siege to their opponent’s line. A dominant scrum gave them a great platform, but poor discipline at the breakdown continued to cost them dearly. They probed for an opening but could not find one, sapping their energy as the conditions continued to worsen. Portarlington managed to turn the ball over and exploited their overcommitted rivals, Jack Walsh running in a sucker punch of a try that marked the end of Clane’s efforts to secure that elusive bonus point.

A tough loss for Clane on the road, but it is still all to play for in the Leinster League this season. A crucial away clash with Dublin Dogos awaits next week, which will likely be decisive.

Portarlington: Jack Walsh, Anavil Storey, Ross Doyle, Jordan Fitzpatrick, Adam Kelly, Kieran Hyland, Darragh Perry, Stephen Oakley, Robert Pigott, Sean Mooney, Dylan Stronge, Darren O’Connor, Aaron Ryan, Jack Hennessy, Arran Maher.

Subs: Damien Sheedy, James Brennan, Mark Petriw, Warren Murray, Keelan Hunt, Matthew Cassidy, Stephen Mulhall.

Clane: Barry Connolly, Oisin Shortt, Jimmy McMahon, Brian Jones, Ciaran McMahon, Joel Dyer, Scott Sterling, Cormac Palmer, Glenn Predy, James Devine, Ronan Connolly, Cillian Shortt, Stephen Dwyer, Sean Southgate, Wayne Fox.

Subs: Owen Daly, Matthew Betts-Symonds, Lawrence Cooper.