James Duggan matches 86 year old scoring feat

LAOIS’S rampant start to their Joe McDonagh Cup campaign continued on Sunday as they dispatched of a weak Kerry team by half time in Laois Hire O’Moore Park.

It’s the third game in succession for Laois that has been done and dusted at an early stage and while they managed to keep up the high rate of scoring in the second half against Down last time out, it’s forgivable that they failed to do so on Sunday.

If for little else it’s a match that will live long in the memory for the sole fact that James Duggan scored five goals from play all before half time – matching a record set by Billy Delaney of Errill back in 1939.

After the game on Sunday Tommy Fitzgerald spoke about the competition for places in his squad and that when opportunities present themselves that players need to take them with both hands, and that is certainly something that James Duggan did on his championship start for Laois.

Fitzgerald commented also that Duggan had his teammates to thank for some of the goals, and while that is true in that there’s an element of luck in who’s on the end of a move, Duggan’s ability to be in the right place at the right time has to be applauded.

He scores goals with an incredible rate of consistency for both Laois and The Harps and he has scored some of the best goals you’re likely to see along with some wonder points – case in point being the time he scored a point against Westmeath whilst on his knees in an U/20 match.

Duggan is just one of an incredibly talented crop of forwards that Tommy Fitzgerald has at his disposal and it’s a tough task to pick just six from what’s there.

Cha Dwyer wasn’t on the panel on Sunday, while Martin Phelan, James Keyes, Eanna Lyons and PJ Scully were unused subs – yet Laois still racked up 5-28 with just eight of the points coming from backs or midfielders.

A huge shift has appeared in this group of players in the aspect of goalscoring, they couldn’t buy a goal in their league campaign but now they are scoring them for fun, hitting 14 goals in their opening three championship fixtures.

Laois’s fixture list was somewhat backloaded as they had the three weaker teams in the competition up first and now as it turns out they have the two strongest teams at the end in Kildare and Carlow.

Not many would have expected us to be classifying Kildare as one of the stronger teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup, but their victory over Carlow on Saturday as solidified their position as serious challengers for the trophy in June and they will be gunning for Laois this Sunday.

Sunday’s fixture is essentially a semi-final as a win for either Laois or Kildare will guarantee them a spot in June’s final.

Before this weekend that fixture would have possibly be seen as a formality by the Laois faithful, but after the defeat of Carlow, they’ll now have to be wary of the threat the Lilywhites pose.