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2023 Allianz Football League Division 4 – Laois 2-13 Waterford 1-5
Laois defeated Waterford by 2-13 to 1-5 in the Allianz Football League Division 4 on Saturday March 4th at Laois Hire O’Moore Park, Portlaoise.
Lowry lights up turgid tussle as Laois dispatch Waterford https://t.co/8AiHb1tRyO
— Irish Examiner Sport (@ExaminerSport) March 4, 2023
Lowry lights up turgid tussle as Laois dispatch Waterford
Allianz FL Division Four: Laois 2-13 Waterford 1-5
Report by Kevin Egan for the Irish Examiner newspaper
A wonderful attacking display from Eoin Lowry lit up an otherwise turgid contest between Laois and Waterford in Portlaoise tonight, as the O’Moore County put last week’s surprise defeat to Wicklow behind them with a comfortable win over Ephie Fitzgerald’s side.
Just five players got on the scoresheet, two from Waterford and none from their forward unit, as Laois controlled possession and generated a world of chances, only to be let down by a dreadful conversion rate.
Despite not contributing directly on the scoreboard, Evan O’Carroll had a solid outing as a target man and distributor, including a clever flat handpass to allow Lowry to palm in the game’s only goal. O’Carroll will however regret his poor positional sense that led to a tap-in goal of his own ruled out for a square ball infringement.
Waterford had just a single point on the board until the 32nd minute, when Darragh Corcoran’s strong run drew a foul from Mark Timmons and a penalty which Jason Curry converted, and follow up points from Curry and Dermot Ryan left just three points in it at half-time, 1-6 to 1-3.
The small threat of an upset was diminished even further on the first play of the second half as Lowry ghosted in behind the Waterford full-back line to collect a long ball and sidestep Ben Kirwan in the Déise goal before finishing.
As the half wore on and Waterford failed to find a way to add to their meagre first half tally, only breaking their drought in stoppage time through Dermot Ryan’s two late points, Laois continued to cut them open at will, with Ben Kirwan called on to make two excellent close range saves to deny Patrick O’Sullivan and Mark Timmons.
Scorers for Laois: E Lowry 2-6 (0-2m), M Barry 0-5 (0-3f), P Kingston 0-2 (0-1f).
Scorers for Waterford: D Ryan 0-4, J Curry 1-1 (1-0 pen).
Laois: S Osborne; S Greene, R Piggott, T Collins; S O’Flynn, M Timmons, B Byrne; K Lillis, D Larkin; K Swayne, P Kingston, P O’Sullivan; E O’Carroll, E Lowry, M Barry.
Subs: C Burke for Swayne (56), D Carolan for Barry (62), C Doyle for O’Carroll (62), S Lacey for Timmons (64), S O’Neill for Greene (70).
Waterford: B Kirwan; R Browne, D Ó Cathasaigh, C Ó Cuirrin; D Ryan, L Fennell, B Looby; J Curry, M Curry; J O’Sullivan, D Corcoran, B Lynch; M Kiely, S Whelan-Barrett, E McGrath Butler.
Subs: R Stringer for Looby (18-23, temp), Stringer for Looby (41), Looby for Browne (48), N McSweeney for Lynch (55), J Devine for Whelan-Barrett (59), D Quirke for Looby (62), J Keane for McGrath Butler (64).
Referee: T Murphy (Galway).
Team News
The @WaterfordGAA Senior Football Panel to play @CLGLaois in Saturday evening's Allianz Football League has been announced! #AllianzLeagues
Advance ticket sales only at https://t.co/Jf2bs0JUxY or selected Centra & SuperValu stores#AllianzLeagues pic.twitter.com/5WFJwuRXbV
— Waterford GAA (@WaterfordGAA) March 2, 2023
Team announcement 📣 #AllianzLeagues
Best of luck to @CLGLaois Senior Footballers and management Vs @WaterfordGAA at Laois Hire O’Moore Park this Saturday night. 🔵⚪️Tickets from https://t.co/ECK22WVexZ and participating Supervalu and Centra stores. pic.twitter.com/7v0tTvSGtS
— Laois GAA (@CLGLaois) March 2, 2023