Leinster SFC Quarter-final/ Laois 0-15 Carlow 1-7: Being Leinster champions often adds that extra percentage. Big scores and oozing confidence while smothering the opposition. The was the way Laois eventually played yesterday, but only after over an hour of far less convincing football that on any other given day could have cost them their title.
Defeat for Carlow then will be disappointing on two counts. Firstly, because Laois were probably there for the taking and, secondly, for their squandering of some of the best chances of the game. It was ultimately a display of over-hesitancy and under-performance.
Yet, against most predictions, it was a game that hung tantalisingly close for long periods. Carlow only hit two scores early in the first half - including Brian Kelly's thunderous goal - and then twice in the second half they trailed by just a point.
If Carlow possession was better utilised then the majority of the 17,300 in attendance would have been slow out of bed this morning.
Still, once the cream of Laois's talent rose to the top, the inevitability set in. They hit four unanswered points in the closing seven minutes and each one was a symbol of their superiority.
Darren Rooney's bursting score from wing back. An ice-cool free from the tireless Ross Munnelly. A trademarked gem from Pádraic Clancy, who was brought in at half-time despite his long absence and played with pace and influence. Finishing that scoring run was captain Chris Conway, whose slow start was an equally fair reflection of the mood of his team-mates.
By the end of the match, though, Laois had star players in vintage form everywhere, from Mick Lawlor in the forward line to Noel Garvan at midfield. At times it seemed Garvan had single-handedly curtailed Carlow's last remaining drive, but he got good back-up from Kevin Fitzpatrick.
"The last 10 minutes or so we did play our normal game," admitted manager Mick O'Dwyer afterwards. "But it did take us a long time to get there. And I suppose we were a little rusty and ragged, because we haven't had a real test since the end of the league. The championship is always the real test.
"Overall, though, I'd be quite happy. We finished well which is the most important thing, and I thought we showed our class there at the finish with some great scores. But there was plenty of local rivalry, and Carlow are a good side. They'll make it hard for any team in the play-offs I can tell you."
O'Dwyer will know that Laois will need to start as well as they finished here to stay alive during their next meeting with Meath, set for June 20th at Croke Park.
There were some positives in the early stages, with Brian McDonald in flying form (he'd hit 0-3) before an accidental clash with one of his team-mates ended his game shortly before half-time. McDonald later appeared with one eye bandaged and the other one black and his loss clearly weakened whatever early advantage Laois had gained.
They should also have gone in at half-time with more than a three-point lead. Moments before the whistle Conway's fists connected perfectly with a Munnelly free but the referee deemed it a square ball. Yet he'd been standing close to the midfield when he made his decision.
So the 0-7 to 1-1 scoreline kept Laois on their toes well into the second half. Minutes after the restart Simon Rea added his second free, but even then it was clear he was having an off-day and was later replaced.
The rest of the second half made for frustrating viewing for the Carlow supporters. Just when it all seemed so close Laois put a distance between the teams.
Kelly's superb point on 42 minutes brought their deficit back to one point, 0-7 to 1-3, but then Laois hit the next two.
On 52 minutes Kelly did it again, closing it to 0-10 to 1-6. With the sudden edge at midfield and Laois still not looking the part, a Carlow victory was still high on the menu.
Instead they traded points once more before Laois took over. Carlow weren't helped by the injury to midfielder Thomas Walsh and old campaigners like Mark Carpenter and Johnny Nevin just weren't getting either the luck or support they needed.
It left manager Luke Dempsey with a simple assessment of the defeat: "Laois just had that experience in the end. But we needed to convert nearly every chance we got and we didn't come close. I'm proud of their performance because they kept battling, but Laois had that physical edge at the end."
With that Dempsey went into the now obligatory rant about poor refereeing standards, which wasn't without its element of truth. "I know this is a predictable cry from managers that are beaten but I'm very disappointed with the standard of refereeing at the moment. Easy frees being given and then nothing for the obvious ones. And the weaker teams getting a raw deal as well. I don't know if the referee was trying to make up for the disallowed goal or what."
What can't be excused so easily is Carlow's wasteful attitude in the first half. A free from Rea on two minutes was followed 12 minutes later by Kelly's goal, from a build-up from Nevin to Walsh to Seán Kavanagh.
That put them three points clear, but they went the rest of the half hitting seven more shots at goal that all went wide. You won't beat the Leinster champions with that sort of average.
LAOIS: 1. F Byron; 2. A Fennelly, 3. C Byrne, 4. J Higgins; 5. D Rooney (0-1), 6. T Kelly, 7. P McDonald; 8. K Fitzpatrick (0-1), 9. N Garvan; 10. R Munnelly (0-4, three frees), 11. I Fitzgerald, 14. C Parkinson (0-1); 13. B McDonald (0-3, two frees), 17. M Lawlor (0-2), 15. C Conway (0-2, one free). Subs: 24. S Cooke for McDonald (35 mins, inj), 28. P Clancy (0-1) for Fitzgerald (half-time), 22. P McMahon for Parkinson (59 mins).
CARLOW: 1. J Clarke; 17. P Cashin, 2. B Farrell, 4. C McCarthy; 5. B English, 6. J Hayden, 7. J Byrne; 8. T Walsh, 9. W Power; 10. S Kavanagh (0-1), 12. M Carpenter (0-1), 11. J Nevin; 13. S Rea (0-2, two frees), 18. B Kelly (1-3, two frees), 14. P Hickey. Subs: 25. J Kavanagh for English, 15. B Carberry for Hickey (both half time), 20. D Byrne for McCarthy (55 mins), 19. R Walker for Rea (63 mins), 22. M Brennan for Walsh (67 mins, inj).
Referee: M Ryan (Limerick).
