Laois dreams of a final are crushed as Westmeath cruise to victory

Westmeath 5-12 

Laois 0-4 

LAOIS have bowed out of the Leinster LGFA Intermediate Championship at the first hurdle, as Westmeath once again proved far too strong. Stephen Duff’s Laois side made the trip to TEG Cusack Park on Saturday afternoon hoping to secure a place in the Intermediate Leinster final, but they were unable to overcome a dominant home team.

Following a disappointing league campaign which saw Laois relegated to Division 4 for 2027, they came into this fixture eager to respond. However, standing in their way was a powerful Westmeath outfit, themselves relegated from Division 2 this year. The sides also met in last year’s Leinster final, where Westmeath came out on top by six points, and they continued that trend here.

Laois made a positive start, with Emily Lacey opening the scoring from a placed ball after Lauren Kearney was fouled. They were unlucky not to raise a green flag soon after when a Shifra Havill effort dropped kindly for Katie Donoghue, but Aoife Temple reacted quickly to clear the danger. Westmeath then got off the mark through Sarah Dillon, who pointed their first score after seven minutes.

From there, Westmeath took full control of proceedings. They surged ahead with an unanswered 2-4, showcasing their attacking threat. Anna Jones converted a free before Lucy McCartan won the resulting kickout and set up Caoimhe Kilmurray for the game’s opening goal. Dillon, Rebecca Higgins and Katie Kilmurray all added points, and McCartan was again involved in the build-up to a second goal, this time teeing up Katie Kilmurray to finish past Eimear Barry.

The half ended as it began, with Kearney fouled and Lacey converting another free. However, Laois trailed 2-5 to 0-2 at the break and faced a nine-point deficit, leaving them with plenty to do in the second half.

Aoibhe Byron opened the second-half scoring with a free, though Laois were still searching for their first score from play. Westmeath continued to attack at pace, and while Vicky Carr saw a goal chance well saved by Barry, Tracey Dillon pointed soon after. Moments later, Rebecca Higgins struck for Westmeath’s third goal, lobbing Barry to extend the lead further.

That score sparked another purple patch for the home side, who added 2-3 in a devastating five-minute spell. Caoimhe Kilmurray pointed from play, while Lucy McCartan capped a fine performance with a goal of her own, having already provided two assists. Dillon and Carr also raised white flags before Carr combined with Dillon again, setting her up to fire to the net.

Westmeath continued to dominate in the closing stages, adding three more points with ease through Jones (free), Katie Kilmurray and Sarah Dillon. Mia Branagan registered a late point for Laois, but it did little to alter the outcome.

In the end, it was a harsh 23-point defeat for Laois, far from the response they would have hoped for. Attention now turns to regrouping ahead of the All-Ireland series, where they will look to bounce back from this setback.

SCORERS:

Westmeath: Sarah Dillon 1-4, Katie Kilmurray 1-2, Caoimhe Kilmurray and Rebecca Higgins 1-1 each, Lucy McCartan 1-0, Anna Jones 0-2fs, Tracey Dillon and Vicky Carr 0-1 each.

Laois: Emily Lacey 0-2fs, and Aoibhe Byron (f), Mia Branagan 0-1 each.

WESTMEATH: Aoife Temple; Lara McCartan, Lucy Power, Fiona Coyle; Philippa Ruane, Ashley Ruane, Chloe Kelly Gonoud; Anna Jones, Vicky Carr; Caoimhe Kilmurray, Lucy McCartan, Tracey Dillon; Katie Kilmurray, Sarah Dillon, Rebecca Higgins.

Subs: Aoife Keegan for T Dillon (51m), Siobhan O'Donnell for Ruane (52m), Louise Payne for Lara McCartan (56m), Sinead Robbins for S Dillon (56m) ,Maisie Currams for Gonoud (56m).

LAOIS: Eimear Barry (Ballinakill); Sinead Farrelly (St Joseph’s), Faye McEvoy (Ballyroan), Mary Cotter (St Conleth’s); Aoife Gorman (Timahoe), Jenny Murphy (Timahoe), Andrea Moran (Ballyroan); Anna Healy (Park Ratheniska), Sarah Larkin (Timahoe); Shifra Havill (St Conleth’s), Lauren Kearney (Sarsfields), Caoimhe Fitzpatrick (Graiguecullen); Emily Lacey (St Joseph’s), Katie Donoghue (Timahoe), Aoibhe Byron (St Conleth's).

Subs: Lara Culleton (Portlaoise) for Moran (ht), Mia Branagan (Graiguecullen) for Byron (38m), Aishling Fitzpatrick for Donoghue (49m), Ciara Byrne (Portlaoise) for Cotter (49m), Ellen O'Byrne (Park Ratheniska) for Lacey (51m).

Referee: Gerard Egan (Longford)