Laois 0-15 Wicklow 0-13:IN VICTORY, one expects an outpouring of emotion. Relief is the natural feeling, but the Laois manager, Liam Kearns, opted for anger with an astonishing tirade directed at local media in the immediate aftermath of Saturday's narrow defeat of Wicklow and that old schemer Mick O'Dwyer.
Considering several dictaphones were recording under his nose, Kearns's backlash was even more remarkable. Normally a composed, assured individual, he provided an insight into the pressure intercounty managers must bear. Sometimes they simply lose it.
These were high stakes. Mick O'Dwyer back to haunt Laois. Yet they set about outclassing and out-scoring a Wicklow side riding the crest of a wave after scalping Kildare in Croke Park. The old and failed hand-passing style appeared to have left with the old regime. Kearns seemed to be finally replacing the O'Dwyer way.
It had taken almost two years but heroes, old and new, rose from the ashes of a disastrous, winless league campaign to initially silence the plentiful Wicklow following in the 10,651 crowd.
Ross Munnelly's threat to dominate proceedings, with three early points, was tempered by some off-target shooting. MJ Tierney, before injury curtailed his evening, had the cut of a young Ciarán McDonald in the way the ball fizzed off his boot. The veteran Tom Kelly and debutant midfielder John O'Loughlin also contributed as Laois strolled into a 0-6 to 0-2 lead after 20 minutes.
Surprisingly Wicklow were being wiped in midfield by O'Loughlin and the hugely impressive Kevin Meaney.
Kearns had kept everyone guessing right up to throw-in, the injured Pauric Clancy taking his place in the pre-match huddle before retiring to the stand. They hardly missed him as the young bloods got the better of James Stafford and Thomas Walsh.
It was breaking ball that caused the most damage. Laois lapped it up, restricting Wicklow's first-half scoring to some long-rangers from the reliable Tony Hannon and a fisted point from Leighton Glynn.
It was 0-9 to 0-4 at the turn after additional scores from substitutes Barry Brennan and Colm Kelly. Wicklow's best chance fell to their full forward Seánie Furlong, who was furious with referee Pat McEnaney after his bursting run ended with a poor shot; he was adamant the persistent Mark Timmons had fouled him.
The revival began early in the second half with Paul Earls and Dean Odlum finding their range, though two Brian McCormack points kept Laois five clear.
O'Dwyer launched the Rathnew legend Tommy Gill from the bench. He immediately ran headlong into the brick wall Darren Rooney. Munnelly accelerated past Paddy Dalton for a fine point. Wicklow replied but Munnelly's fifth point made it 0-13 to 0-9 and seemed like the killer blow.
Maybe it's the 'Micko Effect' or maybe the worm has finally turned in the Garden County because they refused to accept their fate, bombarding the Laois goal for the last 10 minutes. Wicklow had six goal chances throughout but Michael Nolan proved himself an able long-term replacement for Fergal Byron with quality saves from Ciarán Walsh and Odlum, while a Stafford shot smashed off the crossbar late on.
Clancy had come in by now but his impact was minimal and he looked unfit. Points from Glynn and Hannon brought it back to the minimum but a late McCormack score saw Laois barely escape a defeat that might well have curtailed the Kearns era.
"We were playing very methodical football in the first half," said the younger of the two Kerry managers. "We opened them up and should have got more scores on the board. The only thing that kept them in it was the frees.
"In the second half we carried the ball into them a bit like the old Laois style that we are trying to get away from and change. I felt we did everything we could to try and get ourselves beaten.
"We could have lost the game, which would have been very disappointing for us. In fact, I couldn't put words on it."
Questioned as to the style of play he is aiming to bring to Laois, Kearns said, "It doesn't happen overnight. There are clowns in the media - and I'm not talking about the national media, I'm talking about the local media - who say you can turn a team into a different style of football after a couple of months . . . These boys played the short-passing game for a long time and they'll go back to it at times and that's what they did in the second half."
He then added, in what seemed a clear contradiction, "We had six debutants there tonight as well."
This is Kearns's second season and these young players have not been playing a short-passing game since their arrival in the senior intercounty ranks.
Anyway, he blew a fuse (before being shepherded back inside the dressing-room), repeatedly asking one local journalist to provide evidence of credentials. It was unnecessary behaviour and merely served to exacerbate his plight.
The elder Kerryman was more magnanimous in defeat but, not surprisingly, focused on the structures that see Wicklow discarded to the Tommy Murphy Cup.
"We would do very well if the qualifiers were available to us because we would have improved in every game," said O'Dwyer.
"That would have been a starting spot for us but where do we go now? Finished with football for the year. It's crazy."
LAOIS: 1 M Nolan; 2 C Healy, 3 M Timmons, 4 J Higgins; 5 T Kelly (0-1), 6 D Rooney (capt), 7 P McMahon (0-1); 17 K Meaney, 9 J O'Loughlin (0-1); 12 B Sheehan, 11 B McCormack (0-3), 10 R Munnelly (0-5); 13 MJ Tierney (0-2), 14 C Kelly (0-1), 15 C Parkinson. Substitutes: 22 B Brennan (0-1) for Tierney (21 mins), 18 P O'Leary for Sheehan (69 mins), 20 P Lawlor for Munnelly (70 mins).
WICKLOW: 1 M Travers; 2 C Hyland, 3 D Power, 4 A Byrne; 5 M McLoughlin, 6 D Ó hAnnaidh (capt), 7 P Dalton; 8 J Stafford, 9 T Walsh; 10 T Hannon (0-7, two frees, two 45s), 11 L Glynn (0-2), 12 JP Dalton; 13 D Odlum (0-1), 14 S Furlong, 15 P Earls (0-2). Substitutes: 21 C Walsh (0-1) for JP Dalton (29 mins), 17 T Gill for Odlum (49 mins), 21 R Nolan for M McLoughlin (56 mins).
Referee: P McEnaney (Monaghan).
