This team blends grit with grace when under pressure

IF Laois’s first-half performance in Croke Park was workmanlike, their second-half display was electric. The transformation after the break wasn’t just about energy, it was about precision, belief, and a collective raising of standards when it mattered most.

At half time, the numbers told their own story. Laois had registered six scores - one goal and five points, from 15 scoring chances. Seven wides in that opening period spoke of a side that was creating opportunities but not quite delivering the killer touch. They went into the dressing room level with Armagh, but the sense was that the game could tilt either way.

What happened next was a different story altogether. Laois emerged for the second half looking sharper in movement, cleaner in execution, and altogether more ruthless in front of goal. They converted 1-10 from 14 second-half shots, ending the day with an impressive 17 scores from 29 attempts. The contrast with the first period was stark: gone were the snatched efforts and wayward radar, replaced by calm, clinical finishing.

Key figures stepped up in that spell. Aimee Collier’s frees became a metronome for Laois’s momentum, Grainne Delaney’s vision and work rate gave them an edge in attack, and Amy Daly’s goal was the kind of composed finish that breaks resistance.

Around them, players like Kaylee O’Keeffe and Lucy Conroy made telling contributions, while the backline shut down Armagh’s attacking channels just as the Orchard County were beginning to search for a route back.

It wasn’t that Armagh disappeared, they kept finding ways to stay in touch through Rachael Merry’s frees and the tireless running of Sinead Quinn, but Laois had shifted into a higher gear that their opponents simply couldn’t match. By the final whistle, it wasn’t just the scoreline that separated them, it was the sense of a team playing with complete control of their own destiny.

The significance of this win will be felt beyond the silverware. For a side who suffered heartbreak in the same fixture last year, this was a statement about resilience and growth. They weren’t just content to match Armagh blow-for-blow; they wanted to own the game, and in that second half they did exactly that.

In Croke Park, on the biggest day of their season, Laois found their fluency when it counted most. They left the pitch not just as Kay Mills Cup champions, but as a side who had proved to themselves that they can blend grit with grace when under pressure. If the first half was about hanging in there, the second was about seizing the moment and Laois seized it with both hands.