Laois outclassed by Clare as hard times continue for Laois hurlers

Laois prospects of staying in Division one of the hurling league took another body blow today as Clare enjoyed a 13 point win in O'Moore Park.

The challenge facing Laois is now massive and they are going to have to beat either Kilkenny or Antrim in their remaining games to have any chance of avoiding the relegation playoff.

Laois 1-17

Clare 2-27

Clare were by far the better team. They scored at will but also shot a massive 19 wides indicating the amount of overall possession and shot creation that they had. It's clear Laois are struggling at this level but it's not for the lack of effort as they kept going to the final whistle but were ultimately outclassed on the day.

The forward power of the other teams in Division one is stark compared to Laois. Mark Kavanagh, Willie Dunphy and Stephen Maher are all on the injured list and outside of Ross King, the Laois forward line came out second best.

Laois were dealt a big blow before the game with Cha Dwyer ruled out through injury while on the Clare side, their talisman Tony Kelly, due to start at midfield was also absent.

It was a dull and dreary afternoon in O'Moore Park and but in fairness to both sides, there was no let up.

Clare hit 13 wides in the opening half compared to just three for Laois but the Banner did raise the first score of the day with Ian Galvin firing over.

Laois never led in the half but James Ryan did level the game on 49 seconds as the scoring stakes started with a flourish.

Cathal Malone (two) and John Conlon both landed monster scores with the big breeze at their back but Laois were staying in touch with PJ Scully knocking over a '65' and a free to keep them in touch.

Clare then began to steal a march when Shane O'Donnell showed sublime footwork and balance to fire low past Enda Rowland for the opening goal of the game. Diarmuid Ryan followed that up with two long range scores and suddenly Laois found themselves trailing 1-6 to 0-3 after 14 minutes.

They didn't fold though and they battled back into the game with three Scully frees, a neat score from Ross King and a Colm Stapleton effort bringing it back to a 1-7 to 0-8 game after 22 minutes.

Two points was as close as Laois managed to get for the remainder of the half as Clare, despite their wide count, were creating far more chances and trying to avail of the strong breeze at their back.

Paddy Purcell might have had a goal six minutes from the break but his shot blazed over the bar to once again make it a two point game with 29 minutes on the clock.

It looked as if Laois would go in two down at the break but two late Clare scores saw the visitors lead 1-12 to 0-11 at half time.

Clare picked up where they left of at the end of the opening half after the restart with Aidan McCarthy landing two frees while on 49 minutes, they pretty much put the game to bed as Shane O'Donnell played a lovely flick into Mark Rodgers and the half time substitute first timed the ball to the net to make it 2-18 to 0-13 with 20 minutes or so to play.

Laois did get a lifeline just before the water break as Ross King skillfully batted the ball into the net at a tight angle after Fiachra C Fennell's shot had dropped short.

Clare made sure the comeback was short lived with McCarthy and the impressive Cathal Malone all tagging on points to make it 2-24 to 1-15 with five minutes to go.

As the subs rolled on from both sides, the game fizzled out with the final whistle finally sounding with the score at 2-27 to 1-17

LAOIS

Scorers: PJ Scully 0-10 (0-8f and 0-1 '65'), Ross King 1-2, Paddy Purcell 0-2, Jack Kelly 0-1 S/L cut, Colm Stapleton and James Ryan 0-1 each

Team: Enda Rowland; Donnchadh Hartnett, Sean Downey, Diarmuid Conway; Jack Kelly, Matthew Whelan, Conor Phelan; Fiachra C Fennell, Paddy Purcell; Ciaran Collier, Colm Stapleton, James Ryan; Eoin Gaughan, Ross King, PJ Scully. Subs: James Keyes Eoin Gaughan (48) for Ciaran Comerford for Paddy Purcell (48), Ciaran McEvoy for Matthew Whelan (63), Aaron Dunphy for Colm Stapleton (64), Stephen Bergin for Ciaran Collier (70)

CLARE

Scorers: Aidan McCarthy 0-13 (0-11f), Mark Rodgers 1-2, Cathal Malone 0-4, Shane O'Donnell 1-1, Ian Galvin and Diarmuid Ryan 0-2 each, John Conlon, David Fitzgerald and Jason McCarthy 0-1 each.

Team: Eibhear Quilligan; Rory Hayes, Conor Cleary, Aaron Fitzgerald; Diarmuid Ryan, John Conlon, Jack Browne; Cathal Malone, Jason McCarthy; Shane O'Donnell, David Reidy, Shane Golden; Aron Shanagher, Ian Galvin, Aidan McCarthy. Subs: Mark Rodgers for Shane Golden (H/T), David Fitzgerald for Jason McCarthy (45), Colm Galvin for David Reidy (56m), Domhnall McMahon for Ian Galvin (63), Cian Nolan for Diarmuid Ryan (63), Darragh Lohan for John Conlon (68), Gary Cooney for Shane O'Donnell (68)

Referee: Patrick Murphy