Laois' Walsh Shield campaign ended by Kilkenny in Rathdowney

The Laois senior hurler's participation in this year's Walsh Shield was ended on Sunday afternoon in Rathdowney by Kilkenny.

Laois got off to a horrible start and trailed 1-5 to no score with only six minutes played. To Laois' credit, they matched Kilkenny score for score for the remainder of the half. Laois' only real goal chance of note came from a penalty, but Aaron Dunphy's shot was saved by Aidan Tallis.

It was Shamrock Ballyhale's Eoin Cody who got the first score of the game before referee Gearoid McGrath awarded a free for Laois' Mossy Keyes throwing the ball, Cody fired over the resulting free. From the next puck-out, Cathal Beirne made it three points to nil with as many minutes played. Gearoid Dunne and Cody's third point saw Kilkenny into a healthy advantage. 

The Cats would soon lead by eight points as Liam Moore rattled the back of the Laois net. Laois finally began to find their first touch and handling as they opened their account after eight minutes through an Aaron Dunphy free. Mossy Keyes got Laois' second point soon after for Tommy Fitzgerald's side. Cody and Beirne added to their tallies for Kilkenny as Derek Lyng's side led by eight points.

Laois had a half-chance for a goal, but Tallis came out and denied full-back Padraig Dunne as he tried to flick the ball past the Kilkenny goalkeeper. Dunphy fired over a second free for Laois before Moore added a point to his earlier goal. Aidan Corby set up Jack Kelly for only Laois' second score from play after 24 minutes.

The half ended with three frees going between the posts. Two of those came from the hurl of Cody, while Dunphy added another point for Laois. Kilkenny led 1-10 to 0-5 at the break.

The second period began the same way the first had ended, as Dunphy cut Kilkenny's lead to seven points. Beirne added a third point to his name before Laois were given a lifeline in getting back into the game when referee Gearoid McGrath stood with his arms outstretched on the penalty spot. Dunphy took the penalty, but saw his shot saved by Tallis, Dunphy ended up missing the 65 that came from the penalty save, too.

Cody (free) and Kelly swapped scores before Kilkenny put the game to bed a minute later when Dunne raised their second green flag. Laois responded with points from James Keyes and a third point from Jack Kelly. Michael Brennan came off the bench for Kilkenny to score five points on the trot, four of them being frees. The final score of the game proved to be the score of the contest when Kelly curled the ball over from a sideline. 

Kilkenny were worthy winners in the end and they can look forward to a Walsh Shield final against Kildare. For Laois, they have two weeks off before their first game of Division 2A against Mayo on Sunday, January 25.

Full-Time Score

Kilkenny 2-17

Laois 0-10

SCORERS- Kilkenny: Eoin Cody 0-7 (0-5 frees), Gearoid Dunne and Liam Moore 1-1 each, Michael Brennan 0-5 (0-4 frees), Cathal Beirne 0-3. Laois: Aaron Dunphy (frees) and Jack Kelly 0-4 each, James Keyes and Tomas Keyes 0-1 each.