THE football year threw off its winter cloak yesterday with the National Football League quarter finals a reminder to all that the serious business of the summer is now speeding towards us. In terms of shocks, there was a modest enough ration as Derry, League winners for the last two years, were beaten at Croke Park, before an attendance of 13,853, by a sparkling Laois performance that included three goals from Hughie Emerson. The winners are joined in the semi finals by their next opponents Kerry, Cork and Kildare.
It was Derry's first knockout defeat in the competition since Westmeath defeated them at the same stage three years ago. They started precariously with Tony Maher striking for a Lao is goal within a minute of the throw in, but appeared to have stabilised with some good forward play, notably from Joe Cassidy, helpings them to within a point of their opponents by half time.
When Dermot Dougan and Joe Brolly fired in a goal and a point respectively early after the restart, Derry looked on their way. The turning point, although it didn't look that important at the time, was a missed penally by Anthony Tohill on 38 minutes.
Emerson was moved to full forward (from centre forward and after a campaign in Division Two at centre back) and immediately began to cause trouble. His first goal edged Laois ahead and prompted Derry to take off full back Johnny McBride. Replacement David O'Neill fared even worse with the Portarlington player taking two balls over his head and firing to the net to take his team clear for a 4-10 to 1-13 victory.
Their next opponents, Kerry, also defeated former All Ireland champions from Ulster at Croke Park. Down, after a well executed escape from Division Three, were curious as to where they stood in relation to the first division counties. The answer was less than comforting.
Kerry over ran them, 1-18 to 0-10, with Maurice Fitzgerald in excellent form and Dara O Cinneide also showing well. A range of good attacking moves helped the winners pull clear in the second half and a well made and decisively finished goal by Pa Laide put the icing on the cake. At Navan, Division One winners Kildare were made to suffer for their narrowest of victories, 0-9 to 0-8, over Offaly, the League's only surviving 100 per cent team. After an exciting, hard fought contest, Mick O'Dwyer's side scraped into the semi finals by virtue of taking the lead for the first time with two minutes left. Trailing by 0-8 to 0-5 midway through the second hall, Kildare were inspired by Niall Buckley and reeled off four unanswered points in the last 10 minutes to leave a fine Offaly performance - perhaps unfairly - unrewarded by even a draw.
O'Dwyer comes face to face in the semi final with an old nemesis Larry Tompkins who was the chief architect of Cork's overthrow of Kerry in the 1980s. Tompkins will be facing his old county, Kildare, and his Cork team should be favourites if theirs defeat of Louth, 1-12 to 0-11, at Portlaoise proves a reliable guide.
