Goals prove killer as Laois U-20's suffer defeat to Dublin in third round of John Kerins Cup

The Laois U-20 footballers had put in two solid displays before this meeting with Dublin in Ratheniska on Saturday afternoon. Eddie Kinsella’s squad had played out a hard-fought with Kildare in the opening round of the John Kerins Cup Group one before Laois got the better of Meath thanks to a late rally.

Laois knew that any result from this one would see them through to the semi-final stages of this competition. Manager Eddie Kinsella made four changes from the side that defeated Meath the last day out, with Micheál Downey, Shaun Fitzpatrick, Conor Goode, and Brian Whelan all included in the starting side for this clash.

Laois played against the wind in the first half but remained competitive despite that disadvantage. They conceded two perhaps avoidable goals to Dublin but kicked five points down the other end to leave them only trailing by two at half-time.

However, Dublin’s pace and power, as well as their strong bench, proved the difference in the second half. Laois struggled to win their own kick-outs and keep possession, with Dublin taking full advantage to finish eight-point victors in the end.

Laois 1-8

Dublin 3-10

Laois opened the scoring in Ratheniska. Brian Whelan, who had kicked the winning scores the last day out against Meath, converted a free to get his side on the scoreboard for the day. Dublin replied with a fine point from Conor Dolan to level proceedings.

Laois defended very strongly during the opening ten minutes of play, with Danny Brennan, Micheál Downey, and Simon Fitzpatrick all tackling ferociously and turning over possession at the back. However, Laois failed to get enough decent ball into their full-forward line down the opposite end as well.

Dublin eventually broke the Laois resistance with nearly half of the first half played. Jack Lundy spotted the run of Conor Dolan inside and played a very clever through ball into Dolan in space, and he buried it into the bottom right corner of the net.

Laois replied well to that setback, with Brian Whelan placing over two frees on the trot to cut the deficit to the minimum. However, Dublin ruthlessly struck for goal number two minutes later. Again, it was their centre-forward, Jack Lundy, who was pulling the strings. Lundy caught Laois full-back, Danny Brennan, out with a beautifully weighted ball to Alex Rogers, and Rogers finished to the roof of the net.

Laois once more responded well to the goal. Brian Whelan brilliantly curled over his first score from play, and then full-forward and Portarlington man, Ríoghan Murphy, added another nice point following powerful running from midfielder Ciarán Burke. Laois trailed 0-5 to 2-1 at half-time in Ratheniska.

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KELLY CUP THIRD ROUND

The first score of the second half went Dublin’s way, with Jack Lundy landing a point from a free. Laois cut the gap back to just two points once more though, as Ben Reddin floated a lovely ball into Conor Goode up top, and Goode caught well before firing between the posts.

Dublin came close to rattling the Laois net once more, but full-forward Luke Breathnach’s shot came blazing off the crossbar and back out. They did add a point through Darragh Dempsey, before the men from the capital did strike for their third goal,

There was an element of luck involved. Half-time substitute, Ryan O’Dwyer, had a shot that was blocked by Laois corner-back, Micheál Downey, but the deflection, unfortunately, went past Conor Brown in the goals.

Dublin were playing all the football now, and further points from Darragh Dempsey (free) and Tom Brennan pushed their lead out to eight points. Laois desperately needed a spark, and it came from their centre-back and Park-Ratheniska man, Simon Fingleton.

When Fingleton received the ball, there didn’t appear to be any danger from a Dublin perspective. However, Fingleton showed off his pace as well as his skill by dodging a few challenges before brilliantly finishing into the bottom right corner of the goals.

Dublin dominated the remainder of the affair though, with their bench making a massive contribution in the final quarter. Laois only managed two more points, with substitutes James McWey and Oisín Hooney popping over a free each. Laois fell to an eight-point loss in the end, but could still qualify for the semi-finals if results from the other group game go their way.

LAOIS

Scorers: Brian Whelan 0-4 (0-3 frees), Simon Fingleton 1-0, James McWey (free), Oisín Hooney (free), Ríoghan Murphy and Conor Goode 0-1 each

Team: Conor Brown (Portlaoise); Jamie Kelly (St Joseph’s), Danny Brennan (Ballyroan Abbey), Micheál Downey (Ballylinan); Ben Dempsey (Portlaoise), Simon Fingleton (Park-Ratheniska), Darragh Slevin (Portarlington); Ciarán Burke (Crettyard), Ben Reddin (Portlaoise); Shaun Fitzpatrick (Ballyroan Abbey), Darragh Carolan (Stradbally), Kevin Swayne (Portlaoise); Conor Goode (Stradbally), Ríoghan Murphy (Portarlington), Brian Whelan (Ballyroan Abbey). Subs: James McWey (Ballyroan Abbey) for Fitzpatrick (39 mins), Oisín Hooney (St Joseph’s) for Carolan (39 mins), Stephen Lennon (O’Dempsey’s) for Kelly (44 mins), Paddy Hosey (Emo) for Burke (48 mins), Loughlin Kelleher (Barrowhouse) for Reddin (52 mins), Josh O’Brien (St Joseph’s) for Goode (53 mins), Mark Kehoe (Spink) for Downey (53 mins), Michael O’Connell (Portlaoise) for Brown (53 mins)

DUBLIN

Scorers: Ryan O’Dwyer 1-2 (0-1 free), Conor Dolan 1-1, Alex Rogers 1-0, Darragh Dempsey (0-1 free) and Tom Brennan 0-2 each, Jack Lundy (free), Luke Breathnach and Bill Costello 0-1 each

Team: Hugh O’Sullivan; Harry Donaghy, Ben Millist, Liam Smith; Conor Tyrell, Greg McEanney, Kieran Conroy; Adam Waddick, Alex Gavin; Darragh Dempsey, Jack Lundy, Conor Dolan; Fionn Murray, Luke Breathnach, Alex Rogers. Subs: Ryan O’Dwyer, Bill Costello, Senan Forker, Tom Brennan, Killian Murphy, James Casey, Kalem O’Brien, Sean Kinsella, Eoin Wilde, Theo Clancy

REFEREE: Darragh Byrne (Wicklow)