Laois Retain Leinster Status With Epic Win Over Antrim

Sunday, 11 July 2021 13:06

They picked some occasion to put it all together.

Laois have their first win under Cheddar Plunkett and it was in the hottest cauldron of the year.

Win or go home and Leinster status all on the line and they manage to get the job done 2-27 to 2-21 against Antrim yesterday afternoon.

It sets up a clash with either Cork, Clare or Waterford in an All-Ireland qualifier, the draw for which takes place tomorrow morning.

Dealing with probably the largest injury crisis of his career in management, Plunkett and his panel pulled a performance that most were not expecting after succumbing to the Saffrons in the league only a month ago.

PJ Scully top scored with 0-10 and Paddy Purcell bagged 2-2 but it was the variety of scoring (Laois had ten players raise a flag on the day) that proved the difference from previous weeks.

Alot of the key moments came in the opening period, specifically between the 11th and 18th minute where Laois rattled off five scores in succession to open up an 0-11 to 0-4 margin.

Despite Antrim hitting three unanswered of their own, the first of Paddy Purcell's goals and another three points on the spin put the O'Moore men in a commanding ten point lead at the break, 1-17 to 0-10.

All-Ireland Senior Championship- preliminary round

Full Time
Laois 2-27 (33)
Antrim 2-21 (27) #LaoisGAA
🙌🏼🔵⚪️
— Laois GAA (@CLGLaois) July 10, 2021

The lead was as big as 11 points in the 40th minute before things became much more tense.

Antrim would rattle off five of the next six scores including a goal from the penalty spot and suddenly the northern outfit had all the momentum.

In what was a stunningly poor period for Laois, Ross King was given the line for a second yellow and a second Eoin O'Neill goal brought Antrim to within two points with 18 minutes left on the clock.

The next few scores were crucial and Laois got three of them without response, Jack Kelly, PJ Scully and Willie Dunphy all finding their range.

When Purcell found the net for a second time in the 59th minute, it extended the gap to six and Cheddar Plunkett's men were able to manage the last ten minutes to record a famous win.

Laois scorers:

PJ Scully 0-10 (8f), Paddy Purcell 2-2, Podge Delaney/Willie Dunphy/Jack Kelly all 0-3, Ross King 0-2, Ciaran Collier/Ciaran McEvoy/Fiachra C-Fennell/Cha Dwyer all 0-1.