Delaney does the damage as Laois are crowned Leinster champions

Laois 1-15 

Dublin 2-2 

THE Laois Ladies U/16 footballers are Leinster 'B' champions after they got past the challenge of Dublin in TEG Cusack Park on Saturday afternoon.

Park/Ratheniska's Mia Delaney was the star of the show for Laois and was named the Player of the Match. Delaney finished with 10 points to her name, while a mention for Kate Dowling is only fitting as she got Laois' security goal to push them further ahead with 10 minutes to play.

Dublin had gotten the game level with 42 minutes on the clock, but Laois took over from there and finished with 1-7 unanswered to get their hands on the trophy in Mullingar.

Laois got off to a superb start and had five points on the board by the 13th minute. Hanna Luttrell got Laois' first point before Delaney opened her account from a free. Kate Dowling, Laura Malone and Delaney's second point put Laois into a great position with Dublin unable to get out of their half. Dublin's first attempt for a score didn't come until the 14th minute as Laois dominated the early proceedings.

Laois' defence was crucial to prevent Dublin from getting in for goal as Lucy Whelan and Saffron Adams both made great interceptions for Shane Hennessy's side. Laois made it six points to no score with 20 minutes played when Delaney pointed her second free and raised her third green flag of the contest.

All of Laois' good work in the first 20 minutes of the game was undone before the break as Dublin only went into the dressing rooms trailing by two points. Darcy Hall got Dublin's first point after 21 minutes, and then Aoibhin Costello scored a cracking goal, suddenly making it 0-6 to 1-1 in Laois' favour at half-time.

The first few minutes of the second half saw Dublin dominate possession, but The Dubs couldn't put anything on the scoreboard. Delaney got Laois back up and running with a point six minutes after the restart. Sarah McGill and Laura Malone (free) traded points, but then disaster struck for Laois as McGill blasted the ball past Aoife Mullins and the game was now level after 42 minutes.

Laois didn't let that goal affect them and they upped the intensity to wrestle back the initiative in Mullingar. Delaney scored three more points before Chelsey Dooley's shot landed in the square, and Dowling was on hand to palm it past Laura Walsh. Laois led 1-11 to 2-2 with 10 minutes to play.

Delaney added three more points before the end, while Malone scored her third point of the afternoon as Laois coasted to victory. Laois almost had a second goal three minutes before the end, but Kara Whelan's effort hit the crossbar.

SCORERS:

Laois: Mia Delaney 0-10 (0-6fs), Kate Dowling 1-1, Laura Malone 0-3 (0-1f), Hanna Luttrell 0-1.

Dublin: Sarah McGill 1-1, Aoibhin Costello 1-0, Darcy Hall 0-1.

LAOIS: Aoife Mullins (Killeshin); Lily Brophy (St Joseph's), Lucy Whelan (St Brigid's), Sarah Burke (Sarsfields); Kara Powders (Portlaoise), Saffron Adams (Park/Ratheniska), Aine Conroy (Clonaslee/St Manman's); Kara Phelan (Portlaoise), Jessica Horan (Ballyfin); Hanna Luttrell (St Conleth's), Mia Delaney (Park/Ratheniska), Chelsey Dooley (Killeshin); Kate Dowling (St Paul's), Orlaith McEvoy (Sarsfields), Laura Malone (Killeshin).

Subs: Samanta Stalbe (Portlaoise) for Burke (35m), Molly O'Reilly (St Brigid's) for McEvoy (52m), Sarah Cunningham (Park/Ratheniska) for Luttrell (56m), Molly Fitzpatrick (Park-Ratheniska) for Conroy (59m), Kate Conroy (Park-Ratheniska) for Malone (62m) DUBLIN: Laura Walsh; Elsa O’Donoghue, Ella Hempton, Maeve Conlon; Lucy Hanly, Maggie Foley, Sophie Buckley; Saoirse Malone, Eva Healy Dillon; Julie Chauvire, Darcy Hall, Annabel Wyse; Aoibhín Costello, Sarah McGill, Anna Kellegher.

Subs: Caoimhe O'Donoghue for Hanly (ht), Kate Commins for Chauvire (ht), Ellen Stafford for Hall (40m), Lizi Doyle for Wyse (51m), Lulu Ormsby for Costello (58m).

Referee: Brian Foley (Wicklow)