Published: Thursday, 21st January, 2010 11:21am

'Improvement expected and needed'

by Editorial Department

Portora in full tune after their win against Carrickfergus.

Portora will have little time to rest on their laurels following Saturday's Schools' Cup win over Carrickfergus as they get right back into the action this Saturday when they take on Down High School in the third round at Portora Lane on Saturday morning with the game kicking off at 12 noon.

Indeed, Damian Dempster, team fitness conditioner, is glad to be back in action so quickly.

"With the weather and the hold ups over the past while, the team has had virtually no game time, so we are happy to have another game this week. We have a clean bill of health following the Carrickfergus game and hopefully we will have a good week's training. We are expecting improvement all over the park from the boys. We are expecting a big battle from Down High School and certainly will not be underestimating them. They are a potential banana skin," explained Damian who had his team back out on the pitch for the time in a number of weeks on Monday.

Damian is expecting a big battle come Saturday: "We have played Down over the past couple of years and they have always been tough physical battles and we will know what to expect. We will have to improve our decision making and try to move them around the park and we will need to win ruck ball and fast ruck ball. We will also need to be more ruthless and more clinical. On our day we have a pack that can match any in Ireland as they showed against an unbeaten Sligo and I am confident that if we bring our game then we can do the business. All is to play for but we know it won't be easy against Down."

So, the mood is good in the camp ahead of the Down encounter with the excellent performance of the backs also catching the eye of Damian.

"I think if we had moved the ball more we could have put 40 points on the board but I think this will improve with more game time and better decision making. It was great to get the win under the belt on Saturday. We are looking forward to the game on Saturday and hopefully we will get a good crowd down to the game and make it to the fourth round," said Damian.

There is no doubt, the Portora pack will have benefited greatly from this run out and will be the better for it in their next match. The Portora back line had a wonderful first cup match and will gain a huge amount of confidence from this performance. As such then, with both sections of the team performing well, it will be with confidence that Portora play Down High School and with the right focus and attitude, another home win should be garnered.

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