Late Barry penalty fires Laois into Tailteann Cup knockout stages with victory over Offaly

A dramatic late penalty from Mark Barry secured a two-point win for Laois over Offaly in the final round of the Tailteann Cup group stage, a result that ensures Laois' progression to the preliminary quarter-final as one of the three best thirds.

In a chaotic, end-to-end contest that saw both sides exchange purple patches and three goals apiece, it was Barry's composed finish into the top corner in added time that ultimately proved decisive after Paddy O’Sullivan was fouled in the square.

Laois 3-18

Offaly 3-16

The game burst into life early when Offaly almost had a goal on the board inside the opening minute, only for Ben Dempsey to intervene with a crucial block. Jordan Hayes opened the scoring for the visitors, and though Conor Heffernan spurned a good chance to level for Laois, Ronan Coffey soon got Laois up and running from a free after Paddy O’Sullivan was fouled.

Barry was alert from a poor Offaly kick-out to quickly find Brian Byrne, who split the posts to make it 0-2 apiece after 10 minutes. A foul on Jack Bryant allowed Keith O’Neill to put Offaly back in front, but Laois hit a purple patch and rattled off 1-2 in quick succession. Damon Larkin palmed in a flowing team move for the game’s opening goal, with Byrne adding two points.

Larkin then bagged a second goal after a long kick-out from Killian Roche found Heffernan, who set up the Portlaoise man for a composed finish past Paddy Dunican. Aaron McEvoy added another Laois point, but Offaly suddenly found their rhythm and hit 1-5 without reply. Shane Tierney chipped in with two points, O’Neill landed a sublime two-pointer while Laois were temporarily down a man due to a gumshield issue, and Cillian Bourke found the net from a tight angle to cap Offaly’s comeback. A late point from Byrne cut the gap to one at the break, with Offaly leading 1-10 to 2-6.

Offaly threatened another goal after the restart, but O’Sullivan was alert to clear Bourke’s effort off the line. Bryant pointed to push the gap to two, but Laois responded emphatically with three two-pointers. Michael Doran started the burst before goalkeeper Roche kicked one after Offaly were penalised for delaying a return of the ball. Niall Corbet then curled over a brilliant score from the wing to put Laois in control again.

The see-saw nature of the game continued as Hayes drilled a spectacular goal off the underside of the bar to bring Offaly level again, and O’Neill nudged them ahead soon after. But Laois refused to fade. Larkin and Coffey pointed, while Dempsey again rescued a certain goal at the other end. Dylan Hyland came off the bench to level it again before Pa Kirwan and a Coffey score put Laois two clear.

Yet Offaly weren’t finished. Ruairi McNamee struck their third goal to edge them in front and followed it up with a point in injury time. But Laois summoned one last twist. O’Sullivan, immense throughout, was fouled in the square and Barry made no mistake from the spot to deliver a thrilling 3-18 to 3-16 win.

Despite the victory, Laois remain third in the group on scoring difference and will now travel to face a second-placed team in next weekend’s preliminary quarter-final. The draw for that will take place on Sunday evening at 6.15pm.