Emo edge out Stradbally in Laois GAA Senior Football Championship epic

Emo have secured a place in the Third Round of this year's Laois Shopping Centre Senior Football Championship after they came through a thriller with Stradbally in Laois Hire O'Moore Park on Friday evening.

A Jack Deegan two-pointer in the third minute of added time had cut Emo's lead to one point with a minute to play before they broke away to win by four points in the end.

Emo 3-16

Stradbally 1-18

Stradbally started the game like a house on fire, registering five points inside seven minutes, while Emo remained scoreless. Tom Shiel pointed the game's first point from a free before Cillian Maher got the first score from play. Maher then raised the first orange flag of the contest when he pointed a two-point free after a foul on Jody Dillon. Eoin Buggies got his name on the scoresheet as Emo weren't able to handle Stradbally in the early parts of this Laois Shopping Centre SFC Round 2 Qualifier. 

Pa Hosey finally got Emo's first score of the game with nine minutes played. Stradbally looked to be in for a goal shortly after when Maher played a free short to Tom Shiel, but Tom Fennelly was on hand to make a great block on his goal-bound effort. Pa Kirwan and a second from Hosey got Emo back within two points after 15 minutes. Tom Shiel had another great goal chance, but this time it was Eoin Butler who denied him, with Shield having to settle for a point off the top of the crossbar. Cathal Buggie pushed Stradbally 0-7 to 0-3 ahead before Darren Strong scored a two-pointer for Emo.

Maher's point in the 19th minute put three between the sides again, but by the time they scored again, Emo had a one-point lead thanks to a point from Ross Meredith and a goal from Hosey. The next four points were traded as Jody Dillon pointed twice for Stradbally while Hosey and Nigel Murphy maintained Emo's one-point lead. Emo ended the half with two points courtesy of Pa Kirwan, his second a superb point after he ran from his own 45' before splitting the posts. Emo went into the dressing rooms with that Hosey goal separating the sides, 1-10 to 0-10.

The second-half began with Stradbally getting yet another goal chance, but Butler's outstretched boot denied David Donohue. Stradbally got their goal at long last, a minute later, when Shiel played a great ball into Maher, and he caught the ball before blasting it past Butler. Hosey almost had a second goal for Emo in reply, only for his soccer-style effort to be saved off the face of Eamon Delaney and over the bar. Ross Meredith (free) and Niall Gorman pointed to push Emo ahead by a goal yet again. Cillian Maher replied with a free for Stradbally to cut the gap to two points with 15 minutes to play. 

Meredith was on hand to point his third point of the game as Emo still led by that Hosey goal. Benny Lawlor and a free from Maher saw only a point separate the sides again, but Emo kicked on and got a second goal from Nigel Murphy, with Meredith also raising a white flag as they now led by five points with six minutes to play. Stradbally weren't going to go down without a fight as Maher slotted a two-point free between the posts and Shiel pointed as Emo led by two points with three minutes of normal time to play.

Hosey's fifth point of the game put a goal between the sides in the 59th minute before Jack Deegan curled over a two-pointer to cut the Emo lead to a single point with a minute to play. Deegan had another chance from outside the arc to snatch the victory, but his effort went wide of Butler's goal. Emo won the resulting kick-out and broke away to get a third goal from  substitute Jack Murphy. 

Emo will now play a loser of a Round 2 Winners' game in Round 3 while Stradbally will head for the Senior B competition. 

SCORERS — EMO: Pa Hosey 1-5, Nigel Murphy 1-1, Ross Meredith 0-4 (0-1 free), Jack Murphy 1-0, Pa Kirwan 0-3, Darren Strong (two-point free) 0-2, Niall Gorman 0-1. STRADBALLY: Cillian Maher 1-8 (two two-point frees, 0-1 free), Tom Shiel 0-3 (0-1 free), Jack Deegan (one two-pointer) and Jody Dillon 0-2 each, Cathal Buggie, Eoin Buggie and Benny Lawlor 0-1 each.

EMO: Eoin Butler; Shane Murphy, Tom Fennelly, Cian Langford; Sean Greene, Padraig Kirwan, Jamie O’Connor; Niall Gorman, Liam Crowley; Darren Strong, Nigel Murphy, Brian Gorman; Ross Meredith, Paul Lawlor, Paddy Hosey. Subs: Charlie Hand for B Gorman (Blood, 48 mins- 49 mins), Colm Poole for Lawlor (55 mins), Charlie Hand for O’Connor (60 mins), Jack Murphy for B Gorman (61 mins)

STRADBALLY: Darren Maher; Conor McDonald, Eamon Delaney, Liam Knowles; Eoin Buggie, Liam Woulfe, Damien Murphy; Conor Goode, Jack Deegan; David Donoghue, Cathal Buggie, Tom Shiel; Fionn McEvoy, Cillian Maher, Jody Dillon. Subs: Conor Buggie for McEvoy (HT), Benny Lawlor for C Buggie and Ben Dillon for Murphy (Both 41 mins), Garry Comerford for J Dillon (56 mins)