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January 24 @ 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Laois Hire O’Moore Park Portlaoise Referee: Alan Coyne (Westmeath)

Competition:

Allianz Football League Division 3

Description:

Laois drew with Limerick on a scoreline of 1-10 to 0-13 in Round 1 of the Allianz Football League Division 3 on Saturday January 24th at Laois Hire O’Moore Park Portlaoise.

Niall Corbett’s late point earns Laois a share of the spoils with Limerick

Report by Tom Clancy courtesy of the Irish Examiner newspaper

Laois 1-10 (1-0-10) Limerick 0-13 (0-2-9)

Perhaps by circumstance rather than design, Limerick have found new weapons in their arsenal this January.

Only able to call upon six of the starting XV from the 2025 Tailteann Cup final, Jimmy Lee’s men had to dig deep to bag a draw against a wasteful Laois outfit.

They briefly looked like winning the contest, as Eliah Riordan’s sumptuous off-the-deck two-pointer free put Limerick ahead.

However, Niall Corbett kicked a near immediate response to split the points. Level at the interval, the sides couldn’t be separate at the finish, despite both grabbing a lead in four additional second half minutes.

Riordan is a new face in the panel, and Jack McCarthy, Conall O Duinn and Andrew Meade found themselves in starting berths in the midlands on Saturday evening. Simply put, they were without the tried and trusted.

Lee will like what he saw from the new crew. Some were fringe players; others have made a burst through this winter. Short Iain Corbett (retirement) and Josh Ryan (ACL), Lee was also without lieutenants Peter Nash, Tony McCarthy and Tommie Childs, while captain Killian Fahy was also unavailable.

Limerick won in Laois in their last league meeting in 2022, before eventually securing promotion to Division Two, but there has been a lot of water under both bridges since. This time, perhaps, they were fortunate that Laois’ botched goal chances – three in fact – meant this game went to the wire.

They were more efficient than Laois, but Newcastle West native Lee believes “We were lucky to get out. It was a point gained if you look at the second half, but if you look at the first half, it was a point lost”.

“Lads got game time in a League scenario, which is where is ahead of where we would ideally like them to be in their development. We have to take that as a positive”.

Coleman was skipper on the night. The 25-year-old Rathkeale native was a notable absentee too often last year but this time, his thumping two-pointer awoke Limerick late on.

“Leaders lead, and he stood up to the plate when needed. You must remember Barry is still a young lad. He is a young lad leading a team”, explained Lee.

Unbeaten from four starts, and a win in Croke Park in Division Four last year, Lee’s men continued that streak in the O’Moore county.

“The lads do travel well. They enjoy each other’s company, but its all-small things that are vital”.

For Laois, they finished a disappointing sixth in tier three last year, while also falling at the first knock-out hurdle in the Tailteann Cup. They couldn’t shake of Limerick, and despite trailing at the end of the first quarter, they were much the more dominant presence.

However, registering double the wides of the Munster side, Laois simply left the back-door open. Coleman tied the game late on, only for Paul Kingston to immediately land a beauty to restore the lead.

Justin McNulty’s side were facing a defeat on 72 minutes when O’Riordan landed a two-point free, but it was Corbett who had the final say from 25 meters to ensure Laois a draw. It is their first league draw since February 2022.

Those in attendance remembered Stradbally GAA’s Ciarán O’Neill prior to throw-in, who sadly passed away last Friday.

Scorers for Laois: E O’Carroll 1-4 (0-2 frees); P O’Sullivan, C Burke, C Heffernan, R Murphy (free), P Kingston, N Corbett 0-1 each.

Scorers for Limerick: J Naughton 0-3 (0-2 frees); D Neville, B Coleman (tp), E Riordan (tpf) 0-2 each; A Meade, M McCarthy, C O Duinn, E Rigter 0-1 each.

Laois: K Roche; B Dempsey, T Collins, J Lacey; P O’Sullivan, B Byrne (Capt), K Swayne; R Tyrrell, C Burke; C Nolan, R Coffey, C Heffernan; R Murphy, D Galvin, E O’Carroll.
Subs: N Corbett for Heffernan (55); C Dunne for Galvin (64); P Kingston for O’Carroll (69); M Dempsey for Burke (69).

Limerick: J Alfred; J Hassett, D O’Doherty, M McCarthy; B Coleman (Capt), K Ryan, D Buckley; J McCarthy, P Maher; R Riordan, D Neville, C O Duinn, J Naughton; A Meade, R Childs.
Subs: C McSweeney for Hassett (half-time); S Quigley for O Duinn (inj – 39); R O’Brien for Maher; E Rigter for Meade (both 61).

Referee: A Coyne (Westmeath).

Team News

LAOIS: Killian Roche (Killeshin); Ben Dempsey (Portlaoise), Trevor Collins (Graiguecullen), Jake Darcy (Annanough); Paddy O’Sullivan (Portarlington), Brian Byrne (Graiguecullen), Kevin Swayne (Portlaoise); Robert Tyrrell (Courtwood), Ciaran Burke (Crettyard); Cian Nolan (Park-Ratheniska), Ronan Coffey (Portarlington), Conor Heffernan (Killeshin); Rioghan Murphy (Portarlington), Daragh Galvin (Portarlington), Evan O’Carroll (Crettyard)
SUBS: Matthew Byron (Courtwood), Darren Brennan (Portlaoise), Niall Corbet (Clonaslee-St Manman’s), Mikie Dempsey (St Joseph’s), Colin Dunne (Arles-Killeen), Paul Kingston (Arles-Killeen), Jack Lacey (St Joseph’s), Cathal Lee (Clonaslee-St Manman’s), Alex Mohan (Portarlington), Ben O’Connor (Portlaoise), Cian Ryle (Kilcavan)

Venue:

  • Laois Hire O’Moore Park Portlaoise