O'Byrne Cup/Laois 0-13 Louth 0-12:The task for Liam Kearns is an unenviable one as the Kerry Garda must help this Laois team evolve from the Mick O'Dwyer era. The style under O'Dwyer was more akin to handball than football. Not much has changed.
"I'm very disappointed with the performance," he admitted. "Especially the display in front of goal. Scraping home by one point when we dominated midfield is simply not good enough at this level. Instead of taking our points the players were trying to walk the ball into the goal."
Laois remain a team who thrive off momentum and a sense of urgency. The fear of an embarrassing home defeat to Louth spurned them on here.
While still a young panel, many are entering a fourth season on the intercounty scene. Yet their physiques suggest they have never seen the inside of a weights room.
An honourable defeat in an All-Ireland semi-final is the minimum requirement. At least, that was the failed goal of 2006.
Despite Pádraig Clancy dominating the game from midfield, alongside his Timahoe club-mate Brendan Quigley, they somehow contrived to allow Louth come downfield in injury-time just one strike shy of victory and a place in next Sunday's semi-final in Offaly.
The opportunity fell to Darren Clarke - hampered forever as the second most famous man of that name in Ireland - who was in scintillating form having already amassed 0-5. The strike was sure but a Fergal Byron hand expertly deflected it over the bar.
That was in the closing seconds but Kearns was more concerned with the 10 wides amassed in the previous 35 minutes. "They were coming in after a tough week of training but intercounty players should be kicking the ball over the bar from that sort of distance. We were kicking wide after wide. Hopefully it is a case of lesson learned."
The forwards will eventually come good, when the weather clears and the fitness improves, but short interchanging passes all the way up the field is an outdated and easily nullified approach. They conceded several scores by continuing to play kamikaze football in defence.
Granted, they faced a stern wind in the opening half and duly played percentage football. Chris Conway got them off the mark with a decent score, while another positive was the return to form, and the starting line-up, of Colm Parkinson after a season's absence. Parkinson contributed three points, two with the fist, and combined intelligently with fellow will-o-the-wisp Ross Munnelly.
However, some quality strikes from Clarke ensured Louth held a brittle one-point lead at the turn.
Laois came back out and dominated with the wind, only to kick five wides in as many minutes. Brian McCormack and Clancy did break the malaise but it took an act of impetuosity by Mark Stanfield to hand Laois the impetus. Stanfield was blown up for fouling Munnelly but in response to Parkinson's protestations he reacted and earned himself a straight red card.
Louth rallied but a Laois burst down the home strait was copperfastened by substitute Michael Tierney, an excellent minor, interrupting Munnelly's free kick preparations by firing the ball over the bar himself.
"It's great to be getting another game," added Kearns. "We are still using our extended panel as several key players haven't been given a run yet. Joe Higgins, Aidan Fennelly, Darren Rooney in defence. Further up the field there is Beano McDonald and Donie Brennan who are still to come in."
Too early to be asking the hard questions and too cold to be loitering outside a dressingroom in Portarlington. The message is familiar: Laois overflow with potential. It's the realisation of it that remains the challenge.
LAOIS: F Byron; N Donogher, P Begley, R Stapleton; P O'Leary, T Kelly, J Madigan (0-1); P Clancy (0-1), B Quigley; G Kavanagh (0-1), C Conway (0-1), D Murphy (0-1); R Munnelly (0-1, one free), B McCormack (0-2), C Parkinson (0-3). Subs: C Ryan for R Stapleton (35 mins), K Meaney for D Murphy, C Ramsbottom for B Quigley, P Lawlor (0-1) for C Parkinson (all 64 mins), M Tierney (0-1, one free) for R Munnelly (67 mins).
LOUTH: S Connor; A Page, D Finnegan, J Carr; J O'Brien, P McGinnity, R Finnegan (0-1); R Carroll, C Kearney (0-1); C Grimes (0-1), D Reid (0-1), M Stanfield (0-1); H McGinn, N McDonnell (0-1), D Clarke (0-6). Subs: S O'Neill for R Carroll (7 mins), C Judge for C Grimes (half-time), JJ Quigley for H McGinn, D Crilly for S O'Neill (both 51 mins), D Brennan for D Finnegan (65 mins).
Referee: E Craul (Wicklow).
