Laois minors came within a whisker of escaping from the lion’s den

PLAYING Offaly away from home is never an easy task, and Tuesday night at Faithful Fields was no exception — a real trip into the lion’s den for Laois, with everything on the line in this crunch Leinster Minor Football Championship clash.

With both sides level on points and the winner guaranteed a place in the preliminary quarterfinals, the stakes couldn’t have been higher. A draw would’ve seen Laois through on score difference, but Offaly had other ideas and rose to the occasion in front of their home crowd.

Offaly’s physical dominance and aerial presence played a key role throughout, especially with the new rules that place even more emphasis on winning high ball. But it wasn’t just their strength in the air. Offaly’s ability to kick two-pointers, particularly from the likes of Jack Ryan and Tony Furey, was another decisive factor. In a tight game, those two-pointers are gold dust, and Offaly’s accuracy from distance proved crucial.

Despite playing into a strong breeze, Offaly opened the scoring and quickly built a five-point lead before Laois could respond. To their credit, Laois battled back bravely and were only two down at half-time thanks to a rally that included a brilliant two-pointer from Joe Larkin.

But with the wind behind them in the second half, Offaly kicked on, and once again it was their long-range kicking that set them apart — Furey and Ryan both landing two-pointers that kept Laois at bay when it mattered most.

Laois showed plenty of character, twice drawing level in the second half, but they just could not find the killer score. Offaly’s late push, capped by Ryan’s two-pointer, sealed the win and sent the home side through, while Laois will now have to regroup and prepare for the third tier of the All-Ireland series.