2021 Allianz Hurling League Division 1 – Clare 2-27 Laois 1-17

Clare defeated Laois by 2-27 to 1-17 in Round 3 of the 2021 Allianz Hurling League Division 1 on Sunday May 23rd at MW Hire O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.

Third time lucky as Clare grab first win of the season https://t.co/XsME6Sesag

— Irish Examiner Sport (@ExaminerSport) May 23, 2021

Third time lucky as Clare grab first win of the season

Report by Paul Keane for the Irish Examiner newspaper

Allianz HL Division 1B

Clare 2-27 Laois 1-17

A rain-sodden afternoon in Portlaoise was lit up by two moments of Shane O’Donnell brilliance as Clare finally got off the mark in Division 1B of the Allianz NHL.

A terrific 10th-minute solo goal from the speedy attacker set the Banner on their way to a badly needed win and the Ennis man helped seal victory with another searing run for Mark Rodgers’ 48th minute goal.

Clare had just a point to spare last November when the teams met in the All-Ireland qualifiers in Kilkenny but Brian Lohan’s men were far more comfortable this time, running out 13-point victors.

They led 1-12 to 0-11 at half-time and cut loose after the break despite the at times monsoon-like conditions in Portlaoise to leave Laois rooted to the foot of the table.

Free-taker Aidan McCarthy struck 0-13 in total while sub Rodgers finished with 1-2 and O’Donnell added a point to his earlier goal.

The chief downside was the 20 wides that Clare struck, 13 in the first-half.

Lohan used seven substitutes in all and there was a welcome return in the 56th minute for experienced midfielder Colm Galvin who made his first appearance of the year following a long-term groin injury.

All-Star Tony Kelly was missing for Clare though with a dead leg having initially been named to play at midfield. There was a debut too for former Clare senior footballer Aaron Fitzgerald in defence.

Clare will return to action on Saturday week when they play Dublin at Parnell Park while Laois will travel to play Kilkenny the following day.

Scorers for Clare: Aidan McCarthy 0-13 (0-12f), Mark Rodgers 1-2, Shane O’Donnell 1-1, Cathal Malone 0-4, Diarmuid Ryan 0-2, Ian Galvin 0-2, John Conlon 0-1, Jason McCarthy 0-1, David Fitzgerald 0-1.

Scorers for Laois: PJ Scully 0-10 (0-8f, 0-1 65), Ross King 1-2, Paddy Purcell 0-2, Colm Stapleton 0-1, James Ryan 0-1, Jack Kelly 0-1.

CLARE: Eibhear Quilligan; Rory Hayes, Conor Cleary, Aaron Fitzgerald; Diarmuid Ryan, John Conlon, Jack Browne; Cathal Malone, Jason McCarthy; Shane Golden, David Reidy, Shane O’Donnell; Aron Shanagher, Ian Galvin, Aidan McCarthy.
Subs: Mark Rodgers for Golden h/t, David Fitzgerald for J McCarthy 45, Colm Galvin for Reidy 56, Domhnall McMahon for Galvin & Cian Nolan for Ryan 63, Darragh Lohan for Conlon & Gary Cooney for O’Donnell 68.

LAOIS: Enda Rowland; Diarmuid Conway, Donnchadh Hartnett, Sean Downey; Conor Phelan, Matthew Whelan, Jack Kelly; Fiachra Fennell, Paddy Purcell; James Ryan, Colm Stapleton, Ciaran Collier; PJ Scully, Eoin Gaughan, Ross King.
Subs: Ciaran Comerford for Gaughan 47, Lee Cleere for Phelan & Ciaran McEvoy for Whelan 62, Aaron Dunphy for Stapleton 64, Stephen Bergin for Collier 71.

Referee: Patrick Murphy (Carlow).

Match Preview

PREVIEW: #GAA.ie take a look ahead to this weekend's #AllianzLeagues hurling action across all divisions. #GAABelong

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