Ciaran Corrigan preapres to clear his lines against Portaferry.
Lisbellaw 1-11
Portaferry (Down) 2-17
THE pre-match prediction for this AIB Ulster senior hurling club championship tie at Clones was that the vastly experienced Down champions would run away with the semi-final.
In the end Portaferry were comfortably through to the decider, nine points clear but they had been given a tough examination by a determined Lisbellaw side who at one stage in the second half had a glimpse of possibly making it a razor-edged finale.
But the guile and experience of the Down side was to rise to that challenge and with a spree of points they swept back into a commanding position.
Lisbellaw co-manager Brian Johnson was very pleased with the effort the outsiders made over the course of the hour.
“We couldn’t fault any of our players, the team played exceptionally well,” said Johnston. “We knew going into the game that we were facing a top class side and perhaps we did give them a little too respect at the beginning.”
Two first half goals were to push Portaferry into a strong interval position midfielder, Conor Mageean shooting the first and close to the break a second goal was notched.
This came after a shot from Mageean had been blocked out by Lisbellaw keeper Mark Curry but unfortunately the rebound wasn’t kind to the Fermanagh side and Robert Magee at corner forward was on hand to stroke home.
“That goal did set us back,” commented Johnson. “Though in another sense it did come at a good enough time, close to the interval. We had the break to get the boys settled again and prepare for the second half.”
Lisbellaw’s half-time team talk certainly engineered an improved second half display from the side and they were given a terrific early boost with a neatly taken goal from Sean Corrigan who smoothly created space for his shot.
That goal spurred Lisbellaw to a spirited spell and momentarily they had the edge with points from John Duffy from frees and from Daniel Teague had the Down side ruffled.
But the Ards men soon recovered their poise and with points from Ciaran Coulter and Aiden O’Prey they killed off the emerging Lisbellaw surge.
Johnson was warm in his praise of Lisbellaw’s fiery second half effort.
“We found our feet in that second half and I think we actually outscored them over that period,” said Johnston.
In the end though it was a nine point deficit, the manager was to stress the positive aspects that had been gleaned from the contest.
“Last year at this level we were going into the unknown to some extent, but we learned lessons there and this time we were better equipped to deal with what we faced,” said Johnston.
“Again we have learned from this game and I would be very encouraged about the future of the club. The boys have realised that they can play at this level and we have a group of talented new faces coming on.”
Portaferry were quick out of the starting blocks as they were determined not to give the underdogs any sense of optimism that they could stage an ambush and they were soon heading out into the lead.
They were to collect just two goals though it took some excellent shop stopping from Lisbellaw keeper Mark Curry to deny them on several occasions from adding to their tally.
Portaferry headed into the second half fairly secure but couldn’t replicate the spark of the opening half and Lisbellaw trimmed down the deficit.
“We did get a bit of momentum going,” said Johnson but the sheer experience and unquestioned class of the Down side turned the tide and the pre match favourites had plenty in hand at the finish.
For Lisbellaw corner forward Sean Corrigan finished as top marksman with a tally of (1-5), the points coming from frees and John Duffy was also commendably accurate with his free taking, slotting over five scores.
TEAMS
Lisbellaw: M Curry; D Teague, F Bannon, C Corrigan; M Teague, M Slevin, O Russell; J Duffy, R Porteous; B Duffy, T Cleary, K Kehoe; J P McGarry, S Mulholland, S Corrigan. Subs: A Breslin, C McShea, J Gavin, M Williamson.
Portaferry: K Keating; C Taggart, C O’Neill, C O’Prey; M Conlan, J Convery, C Coulter; A Savage, C Mageean; B Coleman, P Braniff, A O’Prey; S Mageean, E Sands, R Magee. Subs: S Murray, F Rodgers.
Referee: Owen Elliott (Antrim)