Drift out quietly or grab the opportunity - Laois chose the latter
Oisin Hade (Laois) kicking for a score against Carlow in their Leinster U/20 Andrew Corden Cup game Photo: Denis Byrne
THIS wasn’t a meaningless end-of-campaign fixture; it was, in effect, a reset button. A competition that looked finished was suddenly extended, and with that came a choice: drift out quietly or grab the opportunity. Laois chose the latter, and that’s what makes this performance worth noting.
What stood out wasn’t just that they responded after half-time, but how they did it. There was a clear shift in intent. The hesitancy that marked their first-half play gave way to a side that was far more assertive, far more willing to take responsibility.
The seven-point surge didn’t just reduce a deficit; it flipped the psychological balance of the game. It showed a team that had decided it wasn’t done yet.
More impressive again was their ability to double down on that momentum. Too often at underage level, a purple patch can be fleeting. Here, Laois backed it up with a second, more decisive burst, two goals and three points that reflected a team now playing with real belief. This wasn’t hopeful football; it was controlled, purposeful, and, crucially, clinical.
From a broader viewpoint, that’s the most encouraging aspect. Laois have shown flashes of quality in this campaign, but they’ve struggled to sustain it. Here, they didn’t just find form, they held onto it long enough to take control of the contest. That’s a significant step.
There are still questions, of course. The late concession and the anxiety that followed underline that game management remains a work in progress. Against stronger opposition, those lapses will be punished more severely. But development isn’t linear and learning how to close out tight games is part of that process.
What this result and performance ultimately provides is relevance. A competition that might have faded into the background now carries meaning. Laois are still standing, and more importantly, they’ve rediscovered a sense of identity at just the right time.
The challenge now is to treat this not as a one-off uplift, but as a baseline. Because if they can reproduce that second-half authority, then this second-tier competition has handed them an opportunity that might yet become something more substantial.
