Derry footballers continued their good recovery at Portlaoise yesterday gaining a valuable brace of league points. Aided by the breeze in the opening half, the visitors looked as if they would run riot. They opened with three points from Joe Brolly inside five minutes and by the time David Sweeney got Laois's first point after 17 minutes, the visitors led 0-7 to a point.

Ian Fitzgerald added a second Laois point after 20 minutes, but a minute later Derry midfielder Enda Muldoon soloed through the Laois defence and from 20 metres out scored a crucial goal.

At half-time the visitors led 1-7 to two points. The home side, with wind advantage on the changeover, got two early points from John McDonald and Ian Fitzgerald and Derry did not score until midway through the second half when Enda Muldoon pointed to put them ahead 1-8 to 0-5.

That was to be the visitors' only score of the second half and, although Laois finished with three good points, it was Derry which took the honours.

Derry: E McCloskey; S Donnelly, D O'Neill, S Lockhart; F Crossan, J McBride, G Coleman; R Boylan (0-1), E Muldoon (1-1); A Tohill (0-1), D Dougan, D Heaney (0-1); J Brolly (0-3), D Bateson (0-1), S Downey. Subs: G McGonagle for Downey; P McFlynn for O'Neill.

Laois: F Byron; B O'Reilly, E Delaney, G Lawlor; D Lalor (0-1), P Conway, G Doyle; D Sweeney (0-2), J Kealy; M Lalor, A Maher, D Delaney (0-1); I Fitzgerald (0-3), M Fennelly, J McDonald (0-1). Sub: D Rooney for O'Reilly.

Referee: R Murphy (Cork).