Laois 4-16 Offaly 0-13
Leinster MHC

Laois secured a third Leinster semi-final appearance in five years at this grade thanks to an easy win.

The O’Moore men hit the front in the third minute with a goal from Stephen Bergin, and they never looked back. Offaly put up a brief resistance after that, getting the score to 1-3 to 0-3 after 20 minutes, but Laois soon started to pull clear.

The home side hit 2-6 before half-time, with Joe Campion firing home a goal from close range and John Lennon raising another green flag after collecting a rebound from Darragh Cripps’ shot. Cripps then added three points himself as Laois led 3-9 to 0-5 at half-time.

Offaly hadn’t shown much in the first half, but they were far more impressive on the resumption when, led by outstanding centre-back Conor Doughan, they scored five points without reply.

Laois quickly put an end to that brief uprising with a point from Aidan Corby, and they got back to playing their best hurling after that. Corby added three more points but the final say went to Bergin.

John Lennon’s shot for a point came up just short, but Bergin got to the dropping ball first and he flicked home a late goal to seal a semi-final place against Wexford on June 22.

SCORERS – Laois: S Bergin 2-2, A Corby 0-5, J Campion 1-2, J Lennon 1-1, D Cripps 0-3 (1f), L O’Connell, L Bergin, C Collier 0-1 each. Offaly: D Murray 0-7fs, C Doughan 0-3 (1f, 2 ’65s), J Fogarty, JK Kilmartin, P Guinan 0-1 each

LAOIS – E Rowland; R Broderick, R Mullaney, E Cuddy; D Palmer, C McEvoy, C Stapleton; L Bergin, R Delahunty; J Lennon, J Campion, A Corby; D Cripps, C Ryan, S Bergin. Subs: L O’Connell for Ryan (22), C Collier for Delahunty (44), M Kavanagh for Cripps (47), G Dunne for Palmer (52), K Bergin for L Bergin (55).

OFFALY – E Cahill; C Taylor, D Doughan, R Kelly; E Nolan, C Doughan, D Mahon; A Spain, R Hughes; D Kelly, C Daly, P Guinan; J Fogarty, JK Kilmartin, D Murray. Subs: A Freeman for A Spain (38), D Spain for Kilmartin (45), C Molloy for R Kelly (49), S Ryan for Fogarty (55).

Ref – G McGrath (Dublin)

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Laois 1-16 Antrim 0-13

Laois’ renaissance under the stewardship of Seamus Plunkett took another giant step forward as they saw off Antrim by six points at O’Moore Park.

Five points in the last 15 minutes were enough for Laois to book a date with Carlow in the Leinster quarter-final, as Antrim failed to hit the heights they had shown against Westmeath. It was a huge win for Laois too, as a little over six months ago they had no manager and looked set to pull out of the Walsh Cup.

Since Plunkett answered the county’s call, however, their fortunes have enjoyed a dramatic upturn, and victory here comes after securing the Division 2A league title earlier in the year.

They were solid if unspectacular throughout the game, winning by six points but hitting 12 wides and making a number of mistakes over the 70 minutes. Their work rate got them out of trouble, but against better opposition in the games ahead they will be made to pay for some of the mistakes they made here.

Antrim got off to a perfect start thanks to a point from a Shane McNaughton free as Laois looked nervy. Tommy Fitzgerald went some way to easing the nerves in the sixth minute, as he slalomed through the Antrim defence before thumping home a goal from close range.

Antrim responded well to that setback, outscoring Laois by three points over the next 10 minutes to take the lead at 1-1 to 0-5, with McNaughton hitting a brace of frees. Laois then went on a run themselves, with two points from Stephen Maher and one from Brian Dunne helping the home side take the lead.

They held that lead to half-time too, as Laois went to the dressing-room 1-6 to 0-7 ahead.

Maher gave them a good start to the second half with a point from a free inside of a minute, but Antrim hit back with a brace of frees from Neil McManus to leave just one point between them.

Antrim couldn’t push on from there and Zane Keenan scored a crucial point. Buoyed by that, Laois went four points up as Keenan and Willie Hyland hit the target.

They kept themselves just ahead until the final 15 minutes, during which time they outscored Antrim by 0-5 to 0-1, as Keenan could even afford to point a late penalty to leave six between the teams at the final whistle.

Man of the match: Zane Keenan (Laois)

SCORERS – Laois: Z Keenan 0-5 (0-1 pen), S Maher 0-4 (2fs), T Fitzgerald 1-1, W Hyland, B Dunne 0-3 each; Antrim: S McNaughton (5fs), N McManus (2fs, 1 ‘65′) 0-5 each, P Shiels, C McKinley, J McGreevey 0-1 each.

LAOIS – E Reilly 8; B Stapleton 7, B Campion 8, JA Delaney 7; J Fitzpatrick 7, M Whelan 7, G Burke 6; C Healy 8, J Walsh 6; S Maher 7, Z Keenan 8, B Dunne 8; J Brophy 6, W Hyland 7, T Fitzgerald 7. Subs: N Foyle 7 for Brophy (46), B Duggan 6 for Burke (53), C Dunne 6 for Walsh (60), PJ Scully for Fitzgerald (70)

ANTRIM – R McGarry 7; B McFall 6, A Graffin 7, C McKinley 7; O McFadden 6, N McAuley 7, P Shiels 7; J McGreevey 6, T McCloskey 7; N McManus 7, M Donnelly 5, E McCloskey 6; S McNaughton 7, C Carson 6, C Clarke 5. Subs: KB McShane 6 for Donnelly (h-t), D Hamill 7 for Clarke (h-t), R McCloskey 6 for McGreevey (45), S Casey 6 for E McCloskey (56).

Ref – C Lyons (Cork).

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Electric Irealnd Leinster MFC Quarter-Final

Laois 0-9

Meath 2-13

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Having opened their campaign in the Leinster championship in impressive fashion against Longford a month earlier, Laois offered little on this occasion. The team work and heart which were on display in that first round win were unfortunately lacking on Saturday, where Laois trailed for the entire game and never looked like changing that.

The result here only further highlights Laois’ decline as a provincial and national power at this level. Laois haven’t been in a Leinster minor football final since 2007, with just one semi-final appearance (2010) in the last six years.

Played in conditions not too dissimilar to Laois game against Longford, the home side had wind advantage in the first half but trailed 1-6 to 0-4 at half time, Laois needed to show some of the fighting qualities they so admirably displayed in the opening round, but it was Meath who scored first.

It wasn’t until the tenth minute of the half that Laois got their first score, through Evin Keane, and Dean Cullen added another soon after to get Laois within four.

Unfortunatley for Laois, that would be the closest they would get. Meath hit two points in quick succession and then a goal that saw them go 2-9 to 0-6 ahead.

If Laois were to salvage anything from this they needed to make a strong play quickly, but it never arrived. The team kept moving forward, but a combination of poor play and good Meath defending meant they never made the breakthrough they needed to.

- Leinster Express

A clinical second-half display enabled Laois to secure a comprehensive win over Meath at O’Moore Park.

The hosts led by five at the break after overcoming a nervy start, as Meath twice held the lead in the opening seven minutes. A goal midway through the first half from Jack Fagan kept Meath in touch.

Laois hit the last six points of the half, with Aidan Corby coming to the fore to put them 0-11 to 1-3 in front at half-time.

They put the game to bed in the first 10 minutes after the restart, as points from Colm Stapleton and Corby were quickly followed by goals from Conor Ryan and Stephen Bergin as Laois went 2-13 to 1-3 ahead. The hosts added another goal before the end from substitute John Lennon.

SCORERS – Laois: S Bergin 1-3, C Ryan, J Lennon 1-1 each, A Corby 0-3, L Bergin, M Kavanagh (1f) 0-2 each, C Stapleton, J Campion, G Dunne, D Cripps (f) 0-1 each. Meath: J Regan 0-4 (3fs), J Fagan 1-1

LAOIS – E Rowland; R Broderick, R Mullaney, E Cuddy; D Palmer, C McEvoy, L O’Connell; L Bergin, C Stapleton; C Ryan, J Campion, A Corby; S Bergin, C Collier, M Kavanagh. Subs: J Lennon for Collier (43), D Cripps for Kavanagh (43), C Phelan for O’Connell (45), R Delahunty for Ryan (49), G Dunne for Palmer (51).

MEATH – A Shelley; M Healy, L Martin, C Sheerin; L Swayne, L Ricard, D Reilly; S Kelly, R Raleigh; S Quigley, J Regan, J Wall; S Doyle, M Healy, J Fagan. Subs: K McKeown for Raleigh (h-t), J Payne for Martin (44), G Rooney for Healy (44), P Leahy for Quigley (48), C Stafford for Kelly (50).

Ref – M Flynn (Kilkenny)

- Irish Independent

Still, progress was difficult for the Cats, who led at half-time by 1-9 to 0-7, thanks mainly to a 23rd-minute goal from John Walsh.

Laois came out in the second half with all guns blazing. They threatened without making an impression on the scoreboard.

Then Lady Luck turned her back on them. A long free from his own half by Murphy was allowed to sail all the way into the net.

Before Laois recovered, Kevin Kenny cut through their defence and lashed home Kilkenny’s third goal.

After 37 minutes, the score was 3-9 to 0-7 and it was game over.

Kilkenny face Wexford in the next round on May 5 while Laois face either Meath or Westmeath on the same date.

SCORERS – Kilkenny: A Murphy 1-7 (6fs), J Walsh 1-4 (2fs), L Hennessy 0-4, K Kenny 1-1, C Ryan 0-2, S Farrell, E Kenny 0-1 each. Laois: M Kavanagh 0-3 (3fs), A Corby 1-0 (f), C Stapleton, J Campion 0-2 each, L Bergin (f), L O’Connell 0-1 each.

KILKENNY – D Holohan; J Tyrrell, E Cody, R Fitzpatrick; J Maher, J Stanley, D Joyce; C Ryan, S Farrell; K Kenny, N Mullins, E Kenny; A Murphy, L Hennessy, J Walsh. Subs: L Blanchfield for Mullins (46), M Kenny for Farrell (46), P Cass for Tyrrell (50), E Brennan for A Murphy (53), C Wallace for Joyce (54).

LAOIS – E Rowland; R Mullaney, C McEvoy, R Broderick; D Palmer, L Bergin, G Dunne; C Collier, L O’Connell; C Stapleton, J Campion, A Corby; M Kavanagh, C Ryan, J. Lennon. Subs: E Cuddy for G Dunne (41), D Cripps for L Bergin (46).

REF – P O’Dwyer (Carlow).

- Irish Independent

Allianz NHL Division 2A Final

Laois 3-14

Westmeath 1-9

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Two goals in the opening ten minutes from John Brophy, combined with an excellent defensive display, meant that Laois were in control from the very early stages. Westmeath offered little in response, as they managed just one point from play in the entire game and never looked like making it competitive.

In contrast, Laois were playing some of their best hurling of the league campaign. Five of the starting six forwards scored, while the back line, led by captain Matthew Whelan, were tenacious and clinical when they needed to be. They made a blistering start too, scoring 2-3 in the first ten minutes to really rattle Westmeath, with Brian Hanley calling in his first substitute after just 13 minutes.

Laois were by leading 2-7 to 0-6 at the interval and the second half started with both teams trading points, as Stephen Maher and Willie Hyland struck for Laois with Derek McNicholas twice responding for Westmeath. Laois really killed the game off in the next five minutes. Stephen Maher pointed his fourth free of the day before Tommy Fitzgerald then swept him Laois’ third goal of the day, after Neil Foyle and Zane Keenan had both seen shots saved by Peter Collins.

Fitzgerald’s goal gave Laois an eleven point lead and from there it was just a matter of finishing out the game for Laois and not doing anything silly, which they didn’t. A few Westmeath attempts to breach their back line were dealt with well, and Stephen Maher had the final say as his free secured an 11 point win and promotion back to Division 1B.

- Leinster Express

The Wexford footballers were relegated from Division 2 after going down 0-14 to 1-8 to Laois at Wexford Park.

Wind-assisted Laois, with Padraig McMahon and Ross Munnelly standing out, showed greater sharpness to power ahead by half-time, leading by 0-10 to 0-2.

Wexford gained a ray of hope when Redmond Barry netted a penalty to cut the gap to 0-11 to 1-3 after 40 minutes. But Laois thwarted their spirited efforts ahead of a possible Championship rematch.

Points from Wexford’s Shane Roche (free) and Ciarán Lyng inside the first 11 minutes sandwiched similar efforts from the midlanders’ Kevin Meaney and Pádraig McMahon in a tight opening.

But as errors entered Wexford’s play the sharper Laois crew capitalised to shoot eight unanswered points.

That scoring streak including a brace apiece from Ross Munnelly and Gary Walsh, as Justin McNulty’s men maintained their slim chances of snatching promotion.

Eight points adrift at the break, Wexford looked to be in serious trouble and they fell further behind when classy wing back Pádraig McMahon sauntered through from the throw-in to increase the gap to 0-11 to 0-2.

But the home side hit back with a point from Ben Brosnan before captain Redmond Barry netted a penalty which was won by PJ Banville.

Laois restored breathing space by the 55th minute, however, courtesy of an MJ Tierney free and a Colm Kelly point as they pushed the margin out to 0-13 to 1-4.

Wexford were fighting for survival and they raised their game with a string of points between the 57th and 65th minutes. Substitute Paddy Byrne, Banville (0-2) and Shane Roche (free) all split the posts to make it 0-13 to 1-8.

But, despite Laois seeing substitute Damien O’Connor dismissed for a second yellow card, McNulty’s side withstood a barrage of closing attacks from Wexford.

Munnelly’s third point helped the O’Moore men secure the victory and a respectable mid-table finish, with Wexford joining Longford in suffering an immediate return to Division 3.

WEXFORD: Anthony Masterson; Joey Wadding, Graeme Molloy, Robert Tierney; Lee Chin, David Murphy, Brian Malone; Daithí Waters, Rory Quinlivan; Shane Roche (0-2, 0-2f), PJ Banville (0-2), James Holmes; Ciarán Lyng (0-1), Redmond Barry (1-0, 1-0 pen), Ben Brosnan (0-1).

Subs used: Adrian Flynn for Holmes, Michael Furlong (0-1) for Tierney, Conor Carty for Quinlivan, Paddy Byrne (0-1) for Brosnan.

LAOIS: Eoin Culliton; Peter O’Leary, Denis Booth, Paul Begley; Darren Strong, John O’Loughlin, Pádraig McMahon (0-3); Kevin Meaney (0-1), Brendan Quigley; Ross Munnelly (0-3), Conor Meredith, Colm Begley (0-1); MJ Tierney (0-2, 0-2f), Gary Walsh (0-2, 0-1 ‘45′), Colm Kelly (0-2).

Subs used: Damien O’Connor for Walsh, Conor Boyle for O’Loughlin, Donie Kingston for Meredith, Kieran Lillis for Strong.

Referee: Conor Lane (Cork)

- breakingnews.ie

An understrength Derry side were well and truly beaten at Celtic Park by a rampant Laois as GAA president Liam O’Neill watched intently from the stand.

Derry took the lead from a Paddy Henry free but without first-choice players Liam Hinphey and Oisin McCloskey they fell further and further behind in the first half as all six Laois forwards managed to get on the scoreboard. A Tommy Fitzgerald goal in the 24th minute eased Laois to a deserved 1-13 to 0-4 interval lead.

Six minutes into the second half, top scorer Zane Keenan (1-3) squeezed the sliotar to the net from a tight angle and the O’Moore County went on to run out comprehensive 18-point winners.

Man of the match: Z Keenan (Laois)

Scorers – Laois: Z Keenan 1-3, S Maher 0-5, W Hyland 0-5, T Fitzgerald 1-1, M Whelan 0-2, B Dunne, N Foyle, PJ Scully and C Dwyer 0-1 each. Derry: P Henry 0-5 (4fs), K Hinphey 0-2 and B Rodgers 0-1.

Laois – E Riley 7; B Stapleton 7, B Campion 8, JA Delaney 7; J Fitzpatrick 7, M Whelan 8, G Burke 6; C Healy 7, B Dunne 7; S Maher 7, Z Keenan 9, W Hyland 7; C Dwyer 6, T Fitzgerald 6, Neil Foyle 6. Subs: PJ Scully for C Dwyer (45), A Collier for T Fitzgerald (52) B Guilfoyle for G Burke (52), C Dunne for B Dunne (61). B Conroy for S Maher (61).

Derry – D McDermott 7; M Warnock 5, C Quinn 6, J McCloskey 6; R McCloskey 5, M Kirkpatrick 5, P Kelly 5; C Convery 5, K Hinphey 5; B Rodgers 8, A Grant 6, P Henry 5; P Cleary 5, T McCloskey, S Farren 5. Subs: N Farren for M Kirkpatrick (h-t), D McCloskey for R McCloskey (h-t), M O’Hagan for T McCloskey (45), D McAlary for P Cleary (53), B Quigley for K Hinphey (65).

Ref – O Elliott (Antrim)

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Justin McNulty’s Laois side grinded out a slender three-point victory over Longford in a low-scoring encounter that did little to set the heart racing in front of a small attendance at Pearse Park.

The home side rued a series of missed opportunities in front of the sticks throughout the opening half-hour, as their free taker Sean McCormack, who is usually so potent from the dead ball, struggled to find any consistency over the course of this lacklustre affair.

Despite their lack of firepower, however, Glenn Ryan’s outfit enjoyed a greater share of the spoils in the first half and held a three-point cushion at the turnover.

A brace of scores from Sean McCormack and Francis McGee gave the hosts the early initiative. The visitors responded swiftly when MJ Tierney slipped over a well-taken point from a tight position.

Longford dominated midway through the opening period, but a recurring theme of missed chances proved to be the midlanders’ Achilles heel.

Solid

The home supporters took some comfort nonetheless in the fact that their defence held solid for long stages of the game and their full-back Barry Gilleran, in particular, marshalled his area of the field with an iron hand all afternoon.

The introduction of Kieran Lillis and Kevin Meaney for Laois at the interval stood them well and their presence was instantly recognisable.

A Donie Kingston point after the break started the Laois revival and two further points from Gary Walsh and Meaney drew them level with the hosts.

Over the following 10 minutes, the teams could not be separated. Longford’s McCormack and Donal McElligott worked tirelessly in attack, but Laois started to enjoy more freedom in their forward line and eventually they took the lead for the first time in the game after their half-time substitute Meaney fired over a brilliant long-range point off his right side.

Beaming with a new air of confidence now, the visitors continued to push deeper into the heart of the Longford defence in search of further scores. Longford did try to withstand the onslaught, but ultimately the Laois attack proved too resilient and a brace of points from Colm Kelly made safe their victory.

Man of the Match: B Gilleran (Longford)

SCORERS – Laois: R Munnelly (1f), K Meaney, C Kelly (1f) 0-2 each, MJ Tierney, G Walsh, D Kingston 0-1 each. Longford: S McCormack 0-3 (2fs), D McElligott 0-2, F McGee 0-1 (f).

LAOIS – E Culliton 7; P O’Leary 7, D Booth 7, P Begley 7; D Strong 7, J O’Loughlin 7, P McMahon 7; B Quigley 6; C Boyle 7; R Munnelly 7, C Begley 7, B Sheehan 6; MJ Tierney 6, P Clancy 6, G Walsh 6, Subs: D Kingston 7 for P Clancy (24), K Lillis 6 for McMahon (h-t), K Meaney 7 for Quigley (h-t), D O’Connor 6 for Walsh (53), C Kelly 7 for Tierney (65),

LONGFORD – D Sheridan 7; D Brady 7, B Gilleran 8, D Reilly 7; C Smyth 6, F Battrim 6, S Mulligan 7; J Keegan 7, M Quinn 7; B McElvaney 7, D McElligott 7, M Brady 6; F McGee 7, D Barden 7, S McCormack 7. Subs: JJ Matthews for McGee (70), S Doyle for M Brady (70).

REF – M Collins (Cork).

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A strong finish to the second half saw Westmeath shock Laois in this keenly contested game played at Cusack Park, Mullingar.

Laois, having played with the wind, only led by two points at the break, 0-9 to 0-7, but they added to their lead when Tommy Fitzgerald found the net from close range in the 38th minute.

There was never much between the two sides and Westmeath stayed in touch, with Derek McNicholas proving very accurate from placed balls.

The game really sprung to life in the final quarter. Laois sub Charlie Dwyer scored Laois’ second goal to put them ahead by 2-12 to 0-16, but within three minutes Laois were reduced to 14 men when James Walsh received a straight red card.

Westmeath, who had shown great hunger and desire throughout, then gained the upper hand, with Eoin Price and Niall O’Brien both finding the net in the final 10 minutes to win the game for Westmeath.

Man of the match: E Price (Westmeath)

Scorers – Westmeath: D McNicholas 0-12 (7 fs, 2 ’65s’), N O’Brien 1-2 (1 f), E Price 1-1, J Shaw 0-2, B Murtagh 0-1. Laois: M Whelan 0-5 (4 fs), S Maher 0-4 (2 fs), T Fitzgerald, C Dwyer 1-0 each, W Hyland 0-2, N Foyle, B Dunne, G Burke (f), PJ Scully 0-1 each.

Westmeath – P Collins 6; T Gallagher 6, A Price 7, M Keegan 5; P Gilsenan 7, C Jordan 7, D Fennell 6; S Power 6, E Price 9; D McNicholas 8, A McGrath 7, R Greville 6; N O’Brien 8, B Murtagh 5, J Shaw 6. Sub: P Fennell 6, for M Keegan (58)

Laois – E Reilly 6; B Stapleton 6, B Campion 7, JA Delaney 5; J Fitzpatrick 6, M Whelan 7, G Burke 6; J Walsh 5, B Dunne 6; S Maher 6, C Healy 8, W Hyland 7; J Brophy 4, T Fitzgerald 6, N Foyle 5. Subs: C Dwyer 7, for B Dunne (h-t), C Dunne 6 for J Brophy (60), PJ Scully 6 for S. Maher (66)

Ref – P O’Dwyer (Carlow)

- independent.ie