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2023 Joe McDonagh Cup Hurling – Laois 4-23 Kerry 0-21

May 13, 2023 @ 5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Laois defeated Kerry by 4-23 to 0-21 in Round 5 of the Joe McDonagh Cup on Saturday May 13th at Austin Stack Park Tralee.

Stephen Molumphy ponders future as Laois let loose in Kerry

2023 Joe McDonagh Cup Rd 5

Kerry 0-21 Laois 4-23

Report by Murt Murphy for the Irish Examiner newspaper

In what turned into a phony war as the result did not really matter at the end of day once Carlow beat Offaly, this Joe McDonagh Cup clash between Kerry and Laois never lived up to its billing.

Laois pulled clear in the second half and three goals settled the issue as the home side were all at sea during the final quarter.

It was also probably long serving talisman Mikey Boyle‘s final game for the Kingdom as he confirmed he is ninety-nine percent sure that he will not be around next year.

Boyle equaled the great Johnny Conway’s 143 senior league and championship appearances with Kerry and it might be the best way to bow out after 18 seasons. Another Kerry player Sean B Weir from the Crotta O’Neills club also confirmed that he is calling it a day after over a decade of loyal service.

But this disappointing ending to Kerry’s Joe McDonagh campaign also marks the end of manager Stephen Molumphy’s two-year term in charge and while he wasn’t confirming that it was the end of the road, he was not intimating that he was returning for another term.

“It wasn’t the result we wanted,” he said, “we wanted to win here no matter what but the second half was extremely disappointing. We will learn from this today and it’s not the point we wanted to finish on, but that’s sport.

“When asked would Stephen Molumphy be in charge of Kerry next year, his reply was revealing: “Look as I told the lads inside in the dressing room; it has been an honour to be manager of the Kerry team and it would be an honour again. I suppose with my wife due in four days’ time, so that is the immediate battle, but look we will see what happens. I haven’t seriously thought about it yet because I was focused on Offaly in two weeks’ time if we had won and Offaly had so there was no need to think about it until the championship was over.

“I always say to the players that they should leave the jersey in a better place and a manager should leave something here and I think they are in a better place but that is only my opinion.”

The opening half was entertaining but it was also a half of missed chances by both sides with Kerry shooting 11 wides while Laois had a wide tally of seven. But it was competitive despite the fact that as the half went on the scoreline from Dr Cullen Park began to filter through and the fact that Carlow were hammering an understrength Offaly side meant that the result in Austin Stack Park was academic.

The sides swapped scores on nine different occasions in the opening half with Kerry shooting five wides in the opening six minutes but they led 0-5 to 0-3 after 10 minutes. Jordan Conway scored a brace of points while Shane Conway added two frees and Brandon Barrett scored a fine effort from play. But Laois thanks in the main to the accuracy of Stephen Maher kept tabs on Kerry and two late Laois points from Maher and Aidan Corby saw Kerry trail by just two points at half time, 1-12 to 0-13, with Stephen Maher’s 18th minute goal the difference beaten the sides.

By this stage one presumed that the scoreline from Carlow would have been known to the players and though Padraig Boyle and Shane Conway (free) scored the first two points of the second half to tie the score, Laois took over, with Maher shredding the Kerry defence while Edna Rowland converted a penalty for a foul on Stephen Bergin in the 42nd minute and the floodgates opened. Laois outscored Kerry from the 46th minute to the 67th minute 2-8 to 0-2 with Patrick Purcell and Stephen Bergin adding goals to ensure Laois enjoyed a 14-point winning margin over a very disappointing Kerry side.

Scorers for Laois: S Maher (1-12, 6fs, 1’65), E Rowland (1-2, 1-0 pen, 2fs) P Purcell and S Bergin (1-0 each), T Keyes and J Keyes (0-2 each), I Shanahan, J Kelly, P Delaney, A Corby and M Phelan (0-1 each)

Kerry: S Conway (0-7 fs), J Conway (0-4), P Boyle (0-3), B Barrett (0-2), E Murphy, F Mackessy, P O’Connor, P Lucid and D Goggin (0-1 each) KERRY: J B O’Halloran; E Murphy, E Leen, K O’Connor; E Ross, F Mackessy, J Diggins, M Boyle; P O’Connor, M Leane; P Boyle, S Conway, J Conway; B Barrett, G Dooley.
Subs: C Walsh for M Leane (29), D Shanahan for C Walsh (29), D Goggin for G Dooley (h/t), P Lucid for B Barrett (47), M Madden for J Diggins (58), R Heffernan for P Boyle (65)

LAOIS: E Rowland; I Shanahan, L O’Connell, D Hartnett; J Kelly, P Delaney, P C Fennell; A Corby, R King; J Keyes, S Maher, P Purcell; S Bergin, M Phelan, T Keyes.
Subs: J Lennon for R King (43), G Lynch for T Keyes (49), R Mullally for A Corby (56), J Duggan for J Keyes (58), L Senior for P Purcell (67)
Referee: L Gordon (Galway)

Team News

LAOIS (SHC v Kerry): E. Rowland; I. Shanahan, L. O’Connell, D. Hartnett; J. Kelly, P. Delaney, F.C. Fennell; A. Corby, R. King; J. Hayes, S. Maher, P. Purcell; S. Bergin, M. Phelan, A. Dunphy.

Details

Date:
May 13, 2023
Time:
5:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Venue

Austin Stack Park Tralee
Tralee, Ireland + Google Map

GAA Units

Clare GAA
Cork GAA
Kerry GAA
Limerick GAA
Tipperary GAA
Waterford GAA
US GAA