Strong start propels Laois step closer to final place after crushing Westmeath

Laois 5-28 

Westmeath 2-19 

 LAOIS took another huge leap towards the Joe McDonagh Cup final with a crushing defeat of Westmeath in TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar on Saturday evening.

Eighteen points split the teams after a totally dominant display from the visitors which saw them raise five green flags and 21 points from play.

While Aaron Dunphy and Ben Conroy were undoubtedly the stars of the show for Laois as they combined for 2-15 of the Laois scores, it was an excellent all round team display with no less than thirteen players getting on the scoresheet.

First half goals from Mossy Keyes, Aaron Dunphy and Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher saw Laois into a commanding ten point lead at half time despite playing against the strong wind in Mullingar.

Laois's dominance continued early in the second half and they were well out of sight by the midway stage of the half before the closing stages turned into a shootout between the teams.

The opening score came from Westmeath's David Williams after a couple of early wides from Laois, but the Westmeath lead was short lived when Podge Delaney fired an excellent ball up the field into the hand of Mossy Keyes who turned on the burners against his cousin Rory Keyes and rattled the net for a goal.

Peter Murphy hit back for Westmeath before a trio of Laois scores through Cillian Dunne, Aidan Corby and Ben Conroy, Laois were keeping Westmeath well penned in with great work from the forwards and it was paying dividends with further points from Picky Maher and Aaron Dunphy.

Westmeath did find a couple scorers back from David Williams and Killian Doyle, but they were opened up once again when Keyes found Aaron Dunphy tearing down the left wing and he took it inside before finishing well for a second Laois goal in the thirteenth minute.

Dunphy added a brace of scores and Conroy also added another two to his tally, with Martin Phelan playing a key role in a couple of the points as he was the target from Eoin Reilly's puckouts to the half forward line.

Shane Williams struck his first of three first half points from range for Westmeath and Kevin Regan added another as they were beginning to put the Laois backs under pressure and got in on goal twice but one effort flashed wide from Eoin Keyes and the other was stopped well by Podge Delaney.

Laois were almost in for another goal themselves when Martin Phelan's shot was bravely blocked by Sean Jackson, though it deflected out for a 65 and Picky Maher slotted from there.

Eoin Keyes was again the focal point for the Westmeath attack when he got under a high ball into the square and was awarded a penalty after a tussle with Podge Delaney, but David Williams' effort was saved by Reilly.

Laois rallied after the penalty award with points from Maher, Dunphy and Martin Phelan, which completed the full set for the Laois forwards with all six getting on the scoresheet before half time.

There was a flurry of action before half time beginning with Ian Shanahan being brought down for a penalty after galloping up the field from corner back and Maher smashed it into the top corner of the net.

Just seconds later Westmeath finally had the ball in the Laois net when midfielder Peter Murphy found a tiny pocket of space to the left of the Laois goals and squeezed it past Reilly from close range.

Shane Williams completed the scoring for the first half with another good effort from range, though the hosts trailed 3-14 to 1-10 at the break.

Ryan Mullaney got in on the scoring act to open the second half before Dooley made it nine different scorers for Laois with a well taken point.

Westmeath were firing back with scores from Eoin Keyes, Kevin Regan and Eamonn Cunneen but they couldn't withstand the forceful Laois attack.

Ben Conroy and Cillian Dunne both pointed before Conroy took possession on the right wing and flew around his man in on top of Sean Jackson and batted home for Laois's fourth goal.

Fiachra C Fennell got his name on the sheet with a fine effort from midfield and the Laois lead continued to grow with a trio of frees from Aaron Dunphy as Maher was substituted off.

The battle for places is tough on this Laois team and that was evident as the subs that came on to the field of play were giving everything they had to continue to pile the misery on Westmeath in the hopes of a starting jersey against Down.

Dunphy and Conroy added further to their own tallies and Ciaran McEvoy got himself on the sheet as well before in the midst of Westmeath scores from McCormack and Keyes.

There was a final flurry before the full time whistle when Westmeath sub Adam Bate lifted the net with a well taken goal but he was matched from the next play by Laois sub Gearoid Lynch who showed his athleticism to tear inside and raise a green flag for the final score.

SCORERS:

Laois: Aaron Dunphy 1-10 (0-4fs), Picky Maher 1-4 (1-0 pen, 0-2fs, 0-1 65), Ben Conroy 1-5, Tomas Keyes 1-0, Gearoid Lynch 1-0, Cillian Dunne 0-2, Martin Phelan, Aidan Corby, Ryan Mullaney, David Dooley, Fiachra C Fennell, Ciaran McEvoy and Jack Kelly 0-1 each.

Westmeath: David Williams (0-2fs) and Eoin Keyes 0-4 each, Peter Murphy 1-1, Shane Williams 0-3, Adam Bate 1-0, Kevin Regan and Darragh McCormack 0-2 each, Killian Doyle, Eamonn Cunneen and Jack Gillen 0-1 each.

LAOIS: Eoin Reilly (Abbeyleix); Ian Shanahan (Ballinakill), Padraig Delaney (The Harps), Lee Cleere (Clough/Ballacolla); Ciaran McEvoy (Portlaoise), Fiachra C Fennell (Rosenallis), Ryan Mullaney (Castletown); David Dooley (Rosenallis), Aidan Corby (Clough/Ballacolla); Martin Phelan (Castletown), Stephen Maher (Clough/Ballacolla), Aaron Dunphy (Borris/Kilcotton); Ben Conroy (Slieve Bloom), Cillian Dunne (Clough/Ballacolla), Tomás Keyes (Camross).

Subs: James Keyes (Colt-Shanahoe) for Maher (49m), Gearoid Lynch (Ballinakill) for Corby (53m), Jack Kelly (Rathdowney/Errill) for T Keyes (53m), Mark Dowling (Camross) for Dunne (57m), Diarmaid Conway (Clough/Ballacolla) for Cleere (63m).

WESTMEATH: Sean Jackson; Shane Williams, Johnny Bermingham, Naoise McKenna; Jack Gillen, Rory Keyes, Mark Cunningham; Andrew Shaw, Peter Murphy; Eamonn Cunneen, David Williams, Kevin Regan; Darragh McCormack, Eoin Keyes, Killian Doyle.

Subs: Jack Kearney for A Shaw (17m, inj), Darragh Egerton for Bermingham (38m, inj), Josh Coll for Doyle (49m), Adam Bate for R Keyes (52m), John Fry for Gillen (62m), Matthew Cunningham for Regan (63m).

Referee: Brian Keon (Galway)