Laois Senior Football Championship quarter-final previews and predictions

This weekend sees the quarter-final stage of the Laois Shopping Centre SFC take place as teams battle it out in order to prolong their season and go one step closer to reaching the county final on October 15.

Laois Hire O'Moore Park will play host to a double-header on Saturday and Sunday with two cracking day of footballs in store. Portarlington will kick off the quarter-finals with a clash against neighbours Courtwood while it's a repeat of the 2018 final as Portlaoise face O'Dempsey's. Sunday's action sees a clash of two big rivals as Graiguecullen face Killeshin while St Joseph's face Emo in the final quarter-final. 

Anthony Cunningham's Portarlington will come into their game against Courtwood well refreshed after a five-week break since their Round 2 fixture against Stradbally. Courtwood on the other hand left it very late to get the better of Ballyroan-Abbey as an injury-time goal from Sean O'Flynn gave them a two point victory to seal their spot in the quarters. 

Portlaoise and O'Dempsey's go toe-to-toe in the quarters for the second time in two years with their clash in 2021 going to extra-time. There's a feeling that their game this year could follow the same pattern as Portlaoise look to try and reclaim the Jack Delaney Cup while O'Dempsey's are aiming to reach their second successive Laois county final.

Killeshin face Graiguecullen having had a well-earned break following their two victories in the championship to date. Graiguecullen were beaten in their opening game by O'Dempsey's before bouncing back against The Heath in Round 2. Their path to the quarter-finals was complete with victory over Stradbally last time out.

The final game of the weekend sees Mick Dempsey's St Joseph's face Emo. St Joseph's got their campaign off to a perfect start as they defeated Portlaoise in the opening game before securing their quarter-final spot against Ballyroan-Abbey back on August 13. Emo will hope to take their superb running game to St Joseph's as they go in search of their first semi-final appearance since 2020.

All four games will be shown live on Clubber following their recent partnership deal with Laois GAA. The links for all four games can be found here.

Meanwhile, for those wanting to attend the fixtures, tickets can be purchased through this link. 

Full fixture details and predictions:

Saturday September 16

Portarlington v Courtwood at 5pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park. Prediction: Portarlington

Portlaoise v O'Dempsey's at 6.30pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park. Prediction: Portlaoise

Sunday September 17

Graiguecullen v Killeshin at 2.30pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park. Prediction: Graiguecullen

St Joseph's v Emo at 4.15pm in Laois Hire O'Moore Park. Prediction: Emo