Laois have their second win from three games in this year’s Joe McDonagh Cup after blitzing past Westmeath at TEG Cusack Park on Saturday evening.
Laois had a whopping 3-14 on the scoreboard by half-time, and it could have been a lot more had they not hit an ocean of wides and missed a few goal chances. The second half wasn’t quite as eventful, but Laois still managed to put up a great tally of 5-28 on the scoreboard.
It was Westmeath that got the game’s first score as centre-forward David Williams split the posts. Laois went on to hit three wides in a row before Mossy Keyes got them off the mark when he skipped through the Westmeath defence and found the back of the net. Peter Murphy pointed the home side’s second point before Laois responded with three in a row courtesy of Cillian Dunne, Aidan Corby and Ben Conroy.
Williams got his second of the evening with Picky Maher (free) and Aaron Dunphy pushing Laois five points ahead after 11 minutes. Killian Doyle got a point back for Westmeath before Laois raised a second green flag when Mossy assisted Dunphy to fire past Sean Jackson. Dunphy took his tally to 1-2 shortly after.
Williams pointed another score for Westmeath, but Laois kept adding scores down the other end. Martin Phelan caught the resulting puck-out and fed the ball to Ben Conroy to score. Conroy added a quick-fire second and Dunphy raised another white flag. Williams and Kevin Regan both scored a point each before Dunphy got another and Picky scored a 65 after a great save from Jackson from a Phelan shot.
Podge Delaney then came to Laois’ rescue when he was on the goal line to deny Eoin Keyes from close range. Shane Williams raised Westmeath’s eighth flag of the contest before Westmeath were awarded a penalty after a foul on Eoin Keyes by Podge Delaney. David Williams took the penalty, but Eoin Reilly made a great save to deny him.
Picky (free), Dunphy and Phelan all pointed as Laois led 2-14 to 0-9 as the game approached half-time. Eoin Keyes scored for Westmeath before Laois got their third goal from a penalty of their own. Ian Shanahan was fouled in the square, and Picky Maher stuck the ball into the top corner. Peter Murphy went down the other end and got the goal back immediately with Shane Williams also adding a point before the break. Laois led 3-14 to 1-10 at half-time.
The second half began with Ryan Mullaney and Picky Maher (free) getting points for Laois. Conroy almost had Laois’ third goal, but Jackson made a good save to deny him. Keyes was one of Westmeath’s main threats as he scored another point. Laois captain David Dooley got in on the act with Regan and Eamonn Cunneen replying down the other end.
Conroy and a superb score over his shoulder from Cillian Dunne kept Laois well ahead with 46 minutes played. Jack Gillen raised a white flag for Westmeath before a fourth Laois goal went in. Corby played a great ball in front of Conroy and he turned his marker before batting it past Jackson. Fiachra C Fennell added his name to the long list of Laois scorers with Dunphy taking over free-taking duties from Picky Maher.
Keyes’ third of the game for Westmeath was followed by two frees from Dunphy as the game began to fizzle out and the result was clear. David Williams pointed a second free for the home side while Darragh McCormack also raised a white flag. Conroy brought his tally to 1-5 while Dunphy added another from play. Ciaran McEvoy had an admirable game at half back and he travelled up the field and added his name to the scoresheet. Keyes and Dunphy (free) traded scores while Jack Kelly sprang off the bench and pointed.
It was a lively finish as Adam Bate rattled the back of Reilly’s net and McCormack followed up by raising a white flag. In the final minute, Laois broke up the field and Gearoid Lynch delivered the finish, which saw Laois raise a fifth and final green flag to bring the game to a close and secure an 18-point win in the end.
Attention will now focus on next weekend’s clash with Down, which is scheduled for Saturday at 5pm in Laois Hire O’Moore Park.
FINAL SCORE
Laois 5-28
Westmeath 2-19
Laois: Aaron Dunphy 1-10 (0-4 frees), Ben Conroy 1-5, Stephen Maher 1-4 (1-0 peno, 0-3frees, 0-1 65’), Tomas Keyes and Gearoid Lynch 1-0 each, Cillian Dunne 0-2, Martin Phelan, Aidan Corby, Ryan Mullaney, Ciaran McEvoy, Fiachra C Fennell, David Dooley and Jack Kelly 0-1 each. Westmeath: Peter Murphy 1-1, David Williams (0-2 frees) and Eoin Keyes 0-4 each, Adam Bate 1-0, Shane Williams 0-3, Kevin Regan and Darragh McCormack 0-2 each, Eamonn Cunneen, Killian Doyle, and Jack Gillen 0-1 each.
LAOIS: Eoin Reilly (Abbeyleix); Ian Shanahan (Ballinakill), Podge Delaney (The Harps), Lee Cleere (Clough/Ballacolla); Ciaran McEvoy (Portlaoise), Fiachra C Fennell (Rosenallis), Ryan Mullaney (Castletown); David Dooley (Rosenallis), Aidan Corby (Clough/Ballacolla); Martin Phelan (Castletown), Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher (Clough/Ballacolla), Aaron Dunphy (Borris-Kilcotton); Ben Conroy (Slieve Bloom), Cillian Dunne (Clough/Ballacolla), Tomas Keyes (Camross). Subs: James Keyes (Colt-Shanahoe) for Maher (49 mins), Jack Kelly (Rathdowney-Errill) for Corby and Gearoid Lynch (Ballinakill) for T Keyes (53 mins), Mark Dowling (Camross) for Dunne (56 mins), Diarmaid Conway (Clough/Ballacolla) for Cleere (63 mins)
WESTMEATH: Sean Jackson; Shane Williams, Mark Cunningham, Naoise McKenna; Jack Gillen, Johnny Bermingham, Rory Keyes; Andrew Shaw, Peter Murphy; Eamonn Cunneen, David Williams, Kevin Regan; Darragh McCormack, Eoin Keyes, Killian Doyle. Subs: Jack Kearney for Shaw (16 mins), Darragh Egerton for Bermingham (38 mins), Josh Coll for Doyle (49 mins), Adam Bate for R Keyes (53 mins), John Fry for Gillen (62 mins), Matthew Cunningham for Regan (64 mins)
Referee: Brian Keon (Galway)
