Laois U-20 hurlers hit top gear against Kildare in Newbridge to set up Wexford clash

The Laois U-20 hurlers are through to the quarter-finals of this year's O'Neills.com Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship after defeating Kildare in Cedral St Conleth's Park, Newbridge on Wednesday evening.

The win marks Derek Delaney's first competitive victory as Laois U-20 manager, coming after back-to-back losses to Galway and Offaly in Tier 1 Group 1.

Laois 1-29

Kildare 2-16

Laois produced a sparkling first-half performance to take firm control of their clash with Kildare, racking up 0-16 before the break to lead by eight at the interval.

It took just over a minute for Laois to open their account as Jack Breen rose highest to claim possession, turned sharply, and slotted over. The early momentum continued with Ben Deegan pointing after a fluid move, before Cormac Byrne burst through on goal only to send his shot wide. Byrne made amends moments later with a point, assisted by Jer Quinlan.

Quinlan, in flying form, opened his own tally in the fourth minute to make it 0-4 to 0-0. Kildare finally got off the mark through a Tom Power free after Laois fouled the ball on the floor, but Rick Bannon’s superb catch and score reasserted Laois’ dominance.

Kildare did respond through Theo Frisby and another Power free, but Laois rattled off four unanswered points. Quinlan clipped over a free and a point from play, while Deegan added two more, one a superb sideline effort and the other set up by Quinlan’s smart play.

Breen had a second goal chance, but once again saw it go wide. However, Laois were playing under advantage, and Quinlan duly converted the resulting free. The sides traded scores, Oran Byrne and Cian O’Reilly for Kildare, with Breen twice on target for Laois, to leave the visitors six ahead after 21 minutes.

A purple patch for Kildare saw them narrow the gap to three thanks to three Tom Power points (two frees), while Laois were wasteful during that spell, hitting three wides. But they finished the half in style with a flurry of five unanswered scores. Breen pointed again, Cian Hill sent one straight back over from the puck-out, Rick Bannon raised his second white flag, and while Justin Duggan was denied a goal, he found his range a minute later. Tom Cuddy added the final point of the half to leave Laois firmly in control at 0-16 to 0-8.

Laois wasted no time in adding to their tally after the restart. Bannon and Byrne were first to split the posts, and although Power responded for Kildare, Quinlan was on hand to tap over another free.

Kildare tried to gain a foothold, with Cian O’Reilly and Tom Boran finding the target, but Laois always had an answer. Breen fired over a superb point from out near the terrace sideline, before Eoghan Cuddy turned over possession deep in Kildare territory and sent the ball straight back over the bar. That made it 0-21 to 0-11 after 41 minutes.

Power kept the home side in touch with two frees, but Laois found another gear, reeling off four unanswered points, Bannon hitting two more to continue his fine form, while Cuddy and Quinlan added to their tallies.

Kildare introduced Alex Bell off the bench, and he made an instant impact, rifling a goal from a close-range free before tagging on a point. CJ Boran also chipped in with a score to give Kildare a late spark.

Laois firmly put the result beyond doubt when they scored their only goal of the game. Cormac Byrne finished brilliantly after a slick move involving Rory Kelly, Kyron Cuddy, and Patrick O’Callaghan. It was a deserved finish to a well-worked team move and took Byrne’s tally to 1-2.

Bell struck his second goal, again from a close-range free, but Laois had the final say. Bannon brought his tally to seven with a late point, before Quinlan closed the scoring with a free to seal a ten-point win.

Laois were never seriously threatened and now look ahead to a Leinster quarter-final clash with Wexford on Monday, May 5, in Chawicks Wexford Park.