Portarlington outmuscled Ballyfin with a strong and determined display in difficult condition at McCann Park on Tuesday evening.

Ballyfin were aided by a strong breeze in the first half and initially the teams were evenly matched with some excellently taken points.

However, the Portarlington side were focused on goals and finished the half stronger leading 4-02 to 1-04 at the break.

The relentless rain did not dampen the momentum of the Port boys as they continued their assault on goal by rattling the net 3 more times in the second half.

The score of the game that epitomised the tenacious team spirit was taken by Sean Connolly-Horan who finished a slick move that involved almost the entire Port team moving the ball at pace from defence to attack.

Impressive defensive performances from Cian Intharaphan, Caelan Melia and the omnipresent Ryan Murphy. Aidan O’Reilly and Luke Dunne controlled midfield throughout and the entire forward line and replacements contributed, with particular mention to the hard-working Cian Twomey and top scorer Patrick Emerson.

Final Score: Portarlington 7-09 Ballyfin 1-6

Team: Finn Doody, Nathan Hayes, Cian Intharaphan (0-1), Ryan Judge, Sean Connolly-Horan (1-01), Ryan Murphy, Caelan Melia, Aidan O’Reilly (1-0). Luke Dunne (1-01), Cian Twomey (0-01), Patrick Emerson (3-02), Noah McCluskey, Sami Hyland, Callum Walsh (0-03), Tristan Gallagher (1-01). Kytec Derrin, Ben Petriw, Iain Wardrop, Luke Quinn, Jake Fitzpatrick, Matiu Hopkins, Liam Mullen, Kyle Nicholl