Latest Laois Sport: Winless run for Laois continues
Allianz National League Division 2 South
Cork condemn Laois to another defeat
Laois 0-10 Cork 2-12
Coming off the back of a disheartening loss to Clare last week Laois needed all the luck going their way in tonight’s encounter with the Leesiders. Alas for the hosts the omens were not good early on. With less than thirty seconds on the clock Lillis had fisted wide then Begley had to limp off injured. A sublime Donie Kingston pass led to Evan O’ Carroll hitting the post. The Laois woes were compounded when Cork countered, fast and direct, and Sean White slipped the ball under Corbet for their first goal.
The home side rallied brightly and O’ Carroll could have had a penalty. However the referee had whistled for an earlier foul. When the Crettyard man dissented the ref opted for a throw in instead. Despite that the Laois rally continued when O’ Sullivan’s good ball into the top left-hand corner saw Donie Kingston fouled. The full forward duly swung over his free to open the home side’s account. At the other end great anticipation from Gareth Dillon saved the day when Corbet’s goal was under threat.
Ominously the visitors were beginning to find their rhythm in the middle. A scintillating 50-yard run and pass from Powter set up O’ Rourke and he fisted over. Laois’ reply saw Brian Byrne cut in from the right flank and swing his point over after good initial work from Donie Kingston. Next Lillis set up Byrne and he fired over for his second of the day. That purple patch from the O’ Moore men continued when O’ Reilly spun smartly and swept his shot over. However Cork welded on two more points from Maguire and O’ Driscoll to wind Laois and leave the visitors 1-04 to 0-04 ahead at the water break.
Immediately on the restart Cork played keep ball for a solid three minutes. Everything that is wrong in modern Gaelic Football was encapsulated in that period. Passing for the sake of passing with the liberal use of back and lateral passes the hallmark of it. When Laois finally got their mitts on the ball they made use of it. Donie Kingston got on it, gave a good pass that saw a free won for the hosts. Kingston himself stepped up and fired over the spot kick. Just as Laois had the deficit down to a brace of points they were hit with another sucker punch. Timmons lost possession and Deane goaled with a slick finish. Corbet had to punch over his own bar soon after with Cork raiding and looking for a third green flag. The Laois response saw Paul Kingston and O’ Carroll combine well to win the free which Donie Kingston converted. However Cork had the last laugh in the half when Luke Connolly fired over a superb point on the turn to leave it Cork 2-07 to Laois 0-07 at the interval.
Again Laois opened the second half brightly and Corbet fired over a ’45’ after good work from O’ Carroll. The Crettyard clubman was again involved when setting up Paul Kingston but the Arles-Killeen forward’s shot was saved. Cork made their opponents pay for such waywardness in front of the sticks. The Munster side broke forward and Maguire fired over a peach of a point. In contrast Laois were wasteful. Good work from Lillis set Byrne free but the final shot never matched the approach work. Then O’ Carroll had his shot blocked as Laois continued to fail to capitalise on their chances. A low rasper of a shot from Timmons was well saved by the Cork custodian as the Leinster side went on to waste opportunity after opportunity.
Cork were soon to show their wayward hosts the error of their ways. O’ Rourke broke onto the ball in midfield, drove forward powerfully then shimmied to create the space and fired over. In response Corbet fired over a free to leave Laois still trailing by two clear goals. Good work from O’ Reilly saw the home outfit notch another point just before the water break. That interval saw Donie Kingston go off injured. That departure didn’t help Laois’ chances in the final quarter. The introduction of Gary Walsh promised a repeat of his three-point tally when introduced late on against Clare. Alas his shooting let him down and Laois fell further behind late on as Cork tacked on points courtesy of a Collins’ brace and Forde. Alarmingly the home outfit faded out of this contest almost completely as the final whistle loomed.
Starved of possession in the middle third Laois needed to take every chance that came their way. That they didn’t meant the opportunity to take down Cork was spurned. The two Kingstons, Evan O’ Carroll, Brian Byrne and Danny O’ Reilly did well at times. Indeed had they got more possession from their overrun midfield Cork might have suffered more than they did. However the Corkonians’ wide tally was much lower and the Munster men were much more clinical in scoring positions. Sheehan, Maguire, Collins and O’ Driscoll all shone for the winners. Sean Powter was the Laois People ‘Player of the Match’.
Laois Scorers: Donie Kingston 0-3 (3fs), Danny O’Reilly, Brian Byrne, Niall Corbet (2 45s) 0-2 each, Kieran Lillis 0-1.
Cork Scorers: Sean White, Ruairi Deane 1-0 each, John O’Rourke, Ciaran Sheehan (1m), Ian Maguire, Mark Collins (2fs) 0-2 each, Kevin O’Driscoll, Luke Connolly, Mattie Taylor, Shane Forde 0-1 each.
LAOIS: Niall Corbet; Robbie Pigott, Mark Timmons, Gareth Dillon; Trevor Collins, Patrick O’Sullivan, Colm Begley; Kieran Lillis, John O’Loughlin; Brian Byrne, Eoin Lowry, Danny O’Reilly; Paul Kingston, Donie Kingston, Evan O’Carroll.
Subs: Alan Farrell for Begley (2 mins, inj), Mark Barry for O’Carroll (51), Gary Walsh for D Kingston (52), Michael Keogh for Lowry (60), Eoin Buggie for O’Sullivan (60), Sean O’Flynn for Byrne (66), Benny Carroll for P Kingston (66)
CORK: MĂchael Martin; Sean Powter, Daniel O’Mahoney, Kevin Flahive; Kevin O’Donovan, Sean Meehan, Mattie Taylor; Ian Maguire, Paul Walsh; Sean White, Ruairi Deane, Kevin O’Driscoll; John O’Rourke, CĂaran Sheehan, Luke Connolly.
Subs: Damien Gore for Connolly (51), Colm O’Callaghan for Sheehan (53), Mark Collins for White (53), Tadhg Corkery for O’Donovan (58), Cian Kiely for Taylor (59), Dan Dineen for O’Rourke (64), Shane Forde for Powter (64).
REFEREE: Barry Judge (Sligo).