Laois and Carlow met in the novel environs for Laois hurling of Bill Delaney Park, Stradbally, on Thursday evening in the Walsh Shield and it was the hosts that came out on top with a five point victory after a tough battle.
Despite the contest coming in a pre-season competition, there was very little left out on the field from either side after a hotly contested and highly entertaining 60 minutes of hurling.
There's been no love lost between the pair in recent years with lockouts, last minute goals and scuffles over tunnels and that history certainly added a bit of bite to the game that's not often seen in January.
Laois dominated from the off in the first half and with the aide of a chilly and quietly strong breeze they made it show on the scoreboard with a ten point lead built up by half-time.
It was very evident from the off and in truth from their aggressive warm up in front of the arriving spectators on the juvenile pitch in Stradbally, that Carlow were on a mission to leave a mark as they came flying back at Laois after the restart and got to within a point after 45 minutes.
Laois dug deep in the latter stages however and the players that were sprung off the bench injected another level of energy to the play that got them over the line.
James Keyes starred for the hosts with 2-1 from half-forward and a very lively display, while Aidan Corby had a brilliant game in midfield alongside Eoin Gaughan and Ryan Mullaney was solid at full-back.
It was Corby that set the tone for the first-half with a point just seconds after the throw in and Cillian Dunne followed with a wonderful score from the right hand sideline.
The good start continued when Mossy Keyes played a lovely ball inside to Colin Byrne who powered home to mark his first Laois start with a goal, and Corby followed with his second point to put six in it.
Corby's score would be the last for Laois for 18 minutes as once again they wasted a number of chances while Carlow raised white flags through Paddy Boland, Fiachra Fitzpatrick and Kevin McDonald but they couldn't make full use of the Laois lull as the backs held strong.
Tempers began to flare as Carlow's frustration became more evident and a few off the ball incidents occurred around the field, perhaps not aided by Richard Holland's hesitancy to blow for fouls, which fanned the flames at times.
Mossy Keyes eventually got Laois back on track in the 22nd mintue with a point and Jack Kelly got his first at the end of a good team move started by Mullaney at the back, and Keyes followed with another moments later.
Laois made another big breakthrough towards the end of the half when Kelly picked out a James Keyes run and the Colt-Shanahoe man just about managed to squeeze his effort under Brian Tracy. A brace of frees from Mossy Keyes and one from Martin Kavanagh saw out the half and Laois led 2-8 to 0-4.
The second-half seemed like a formality such was Laois' dominance in the opening half but Carlow had other idea as Kavanagh struck twice and Colm Beck once to get them off to a flyer. Kelly brought another series of missed chances for Laois to an end with their first of the half 10 minutes after the restart and David Dooley marked his introduction with a point after a typical driving run through the middle.
Carlow were getting opportunities however as their forwards were starting to cut through the Laois backs with a little bit too much ease and they got their own breakthrough when Paddy Boland received a handpass from John Doyle in front of the posts and buried it under Eoin Reilly.
The Laois keeper was called into action again to deny Boland just two minutes later but the onslaught continued further as Kevin McDonald finished off another penetrating move down the right wing and there was little Reilly could do to deny it.
A couple of scores from Kavanagh in the midst of the goals meant just a point separated the teams and all the momentum was with the Fighting Cocks, but they were caught on their heels at the back when Colin Byrne chased down a loose ball and got it out to Kelly who again found James Keyes on the charge and he lashed it into the net for a much needed goal.
Aaron Dunphy followed with a free and James Keyes struck from play, and suddenly the Laois contingent could breathe freely once again with two minutes left to play and a six point advantage.
Carlow struck a couple late on, but the jig was up and Laois’ victory meant that they would get the chance to have a crack at Kilkenny in the semi-final on Sunday.
Full-Time Score
SCORERS— Laois: James Keyes 2-1, Mossy Keyes 0-4 (0-2 frees), Colin Byrne 1-0, Aaron Dunphy 0-3 (0-2 frees), Aidan Corby and Jack Kelly 0-2 each, Cillian Dunne and David Dooley 0-1 each. Carlow: Martin Kavanagh 0-6 (0-4 frees, 0-1 65), Kevin McDonald and Paddy Boland 1-1 each, Donagh Murphy 0-2, Colm Beck and Fiachra Fitzpatrick 0-1 each.
LAOIS: Eoin Fleming (Borris-Kilcotton); Diarmuid Dooley (Rosenallis), Ryan Mullaney (Castletown), Padraic Dunne (The Harps); Eoghan Murphy (The Harps), Podge Delaney (The Harps), Eoghan Cuddy (Camross); Eoin Gaughan (Camross), Aidan Corby (Clough-Ballacolla); Jack Kelly (Rathdowney-Errill), Fionn Holland (Clonad), James Keyes (Colt-Shanahoe); Colin Byrne (Abbeyleix), Cillian Dunne (Clough-Ballacolla), Tomas Keyes (Camross). Subs: Eoin Reilly (Abbeyleix) for Fleming, Cormac Hogan (Clough-Ballacolla) for Dooley, Cody Comerford (The Harps) for Dunne and Aaron Dunphy (Borris-Kilcotton) for Delaney (ht), Fiachra C Fennell (Rosenallis) for T Keyes, Jack Breen (Castletown) for Murphy and David Dooley (Rosenallis) for Gaughan (all 42), Cormac Byrne (Abbeyleix) for Byrne (52), Ciaran McEvoy (Portlaoise) for Holland (55).
CARLOW: Brian Tracey; Jamie Wall, Dion Wall, Conaill Fitzpatrick; Fiach O’Toole, Kevin McDonald, Paidi O’Shea; Evan Kelly, Fiachra Fitzpatrick; Colm Beck, Jon Nolan, Conor Kehoe; Marty Kavanagh, John Doyle, Paddy Boland. Subs: Lorcan Doyle, Colm Kavanagh, Donagh Murphy, Ted Joyce, Eric English, Tadhg O’Neill.
REFEREE: Richard Holland (Kilkenny)
