O'Byrne Cup Final/ Dublin 1-18 Laois 2-13: For all that the counties would have presumably preferred to minimise the risks of yesterday's O'Byrne Cup final in Tullamore with the National League only a week away (six days in Dublin's case), the top sides in Leinster got surprisingly involved in proceedings and ended up staging an entertaining and hard-fought match that took extra-time to resolve.
Dublin emerged on top by just two points but were taken the distance by an experimental Laois team.
Although referee Derek Fahy unleashed a blizzard of yellow cards (20 by the reckoning of some) and dismissed four players the match wasn't a nasty one.
In fairness to the Longford official there were few obvious miscarriages of justice and the outcome gave a glimpse of what happens if rules are stringently enforced in the current climate of discipline.
Unlike last week, Dublin failed to harness the wind to any significant extent in the first half and actually trailed at half-time, 0-7 to 1-5. The forwards - and last week's scorers-in-chief Diarmuid Connolly and Conal Keaney in particular - eventually found their rhythm and should have sealed the match in ordinary time but manager Paul Caffrey acknowledged afterwards that the first half had been disappointing.
The reason they were chasing the match came down to a fumble at centre field by Darren Magee - the turnover being moved by Pádraig Clancy to Michael Tierney, who in turn found the unmarked Paul Lawlor on his own in front of goal and the Emo player maintained his run of good form by slipping the ball past Stephen Cluxton.
For most of the first half you wouldn't have known that Laois were the side that had been changing line-ups match to match as if their players were disposable.
They moved comfortably from defence - a little too comfortably at times, their short passing at the back coming perilously close at times to what is known in another code as "fannying aboot" - and their forwards exerted serious pressure.
Dublin's attack on the other hand, having been precision tooled against Wicklow, was clunky and dysfunctional. The sort of aerial superiority they had established a week ago was never on against Darren Rooney, who got good, perceptive support from Cathal Ryan and Peter O'Leary in the corners, in the Laois full back line. But for the contribution of the young St Vincent's pair Connolly and wing back Gerard Brennan, who popped up with two points in the first half, the interval would have been even more vexatious for the Dublin management.
It looked as if the match had tilted when Rooney became the first dismissal 10 minutes after the break, as he picked up a second yellow card for clattering into Kevin Bonner. But Dublin, although playing with a lot more purpose, having introduced Bryan Cullen - into attack - and David Henry, failed to turn the screw.
There were goal chances for both sides, most obviously in efforts that drew great saves from both Cluxton and Byron but the match ticked away with Dublin keeping their noses in front and Laois chasing and the teams level eight times in the second half.
Keaney looked to have won it when swinging over an acutely angled free on the right, deep in injury-time but a massive strike from Clancy - reminiscent of his 2003 score against Dublin in the championship - brought the match to extra-time.
Again Laois started strongly and Tierney deftly placed a penalty past Cluxton after Barry Cahill had brought down Colm Parkinson and earned himself a second yellow - to join Henry as Dublin's second dismissal (Gary Kavanagh evened the disadvantage for the final 10 minutes).
The decisive score came when the bounce of a long ball from Darren Magee deceived Kevin Fitzpatrick and Bonner took advantage with a crashing shot into the net to restore Dublin's lead at 1-16 to 2-12, a margin they extended in the second half of extra-time.
DUBLIN: S Cluxton; P Griffin, N O'Shea, C Prendiville; C Goggins, C Moran (capt), G Brennan (0-2); D Magee, D O'Mahony; D Murray (0-1), T Quinn, D Connolly (0-7, six frees); D O'Callaghan, K Bonner (1-2), C Keaney (0-5, one free). Subs: D Henry for Prendiville (half-time), B Cullen for O'Callaghan (half-time), B Cahill for Moran (62 mins), J Magee (0-1)for O'Mahony (65 mins). Extra-time: D Reilly (restoring 15th man), S O'Shaughnessy for Reilly (87 mins).
LAOIS: F Byron; C Ryan, D Rooney, P O'Leary; J Madigan, K Fitzpatrick, B McCormack (0-1, free); P Clancy (0-2), T Kelly (0-1); G Kavanagh, P Lawlor (1-5, four points frees), C Bergin; M Tierney (1-0, penalty), C Parkinson, B McDonald (0-4, three frees). Subs: D Murphy for Bergin (44 mins), B Sheehan for Madigan (51 mins). Extra-time: G Ramsbottom (restoring 15th man).
Referee: D Fahy(Longford).
