O'Byrne Cup Semi-final/Laois 2-12 Offaly 3-8:Whenever these neighbourly foes cross paths you don't expect either of them to back down, and yesterday's O'Byrne Cup semi-final went something like that. With the clock counted out and the scores level Paul Lawlor landed one of those fortunate frees to hand Laois the unlikeliest of victories, and Offaly the narrowest of defeats.
It was, naturally, the most important time to lead all afternoon and completed a comeback that at one stage had them drifting seven points behind. With both teams under new management it was one of those games caught between short and long-term stakes, the first of which was the final showdown and a home venue against Dublin next Sunday.
Laois rode to that last outing prior to the league on the back of their own determination, and a little luck. Colm Parkinson's goal early in the second half followed a moment of slack defending, and their second goal five minutes from time - a penalty by Ross Munnelly - was frantically denied by the apparently guilty party, Karol Slattery.
For Laois manager Liam Kearns the easing into Mick O'Dwyer's shoes continues and while he seemed a little surprised with the victory there's clearly never a bad time of the year to be winning. "Yeah, we showed some good character alright," he said. "Look though it's still just an O'Byrne Cup match, and we're both playing with experimental teams. So you can't read too much into it.
"But winning is always a good habit to get into. I just think it's a pity the final now has to be next weekend, just a week before the league begins, because that's cutting it close."
Offaly arrived on the back of two earlier victories over third level sides, and as manager Pat Roe predicted, Laois would mark a major step up. That's the way they approached the game, putting it up to Laois from the start despite playing into the howling wind, and before long found themselves seven points in front, 2-5 to 0-4.
Rory Connor, set up by Neville Coughlan, hit their opening goal inside two minutes, and on 15 minutes they'd scored a second through Ciarán McManus, who's typically determined finish proved unstoppable for rookie Laois goalkeeper Conor Gorman.
At that stage the Laois defence was a badly cracked wall, but then it was newly built. With the likes of Tom Kelly, Joe Higgins and Aidan Fennelly still absent it was definitely experimental and Offaly made the most of it.
Niall McNamee proved his class once more with three first-half scores, and while the youngster Ken Casey was kept quiet, Thomas Deehan also popped up for two from play. As the home crowd warmed into their seats it had all the makings of a fine afternoon for Offaly, and a worrying one for Laois.
Slowly but surely all that changed. Laois hit four unanswered points before the break, including two from Lawlor and a solo run and score for Parkinson. Having stole back the momentum they reduced the deficit to just three points, 2-5 to 0-8, and Offaly's scoring suddenly seemed to have fallen flat.
McNamee renewed Offaly's scoring after a 15-minute hiatus, before Parkinson's goal on 48 minutes - cutely set up by Barry Brennan but badly handled by the Offaly defence - brought the sides level for the first time. Laois then had the chance to go in front only for Munnelly's free to drop short, and then Offaly were jump-started once again with a well-finished goal by Scott Brady, sent in from the sideline by Deehan.
Another McNamee point left Offaly in the driving seat again, 3-7 to 1-9, but as so often seen in the past they couldn't fully shake off Laois. Lawlor had moved to full forward and that increased his threat, and with Padraig Clancy working tirelessly at midfield as usual there was, as stated, no backing down.
The match-turning penalty came on 66 minutes, with Munnelly charging on goal when he was pushed from behind. His finish was clinical - low and tight into the right corner - and thus set up the frantic climax. McNamee's free on 69 minutes levelled it once again, before Lawlor completed his seventh score and a memorable afternoon with the match-winning free.
LAOIS: C Gorman; C Ryan, K Fitzpatrick, N Donoher; P O'Leary, D Brennan, J Madigan; P Clancy, K Meaney; D Murphy (0-1), P Lawlor (0-7, two frees), G Ramsbottom; J Enright (0-1), B Brennan (0-1, a free), C Parkinson (1-2). Subs: D Rooney for D Brennan (20 mins), R Munnelly (1-0, a penalty) for Meaney (31 mins), C Bergin for Enright (half-time), B McCormack for Donoher (51 mins), B McDonald for B Brennan (60 mins).
OFFALY: P Kelly; J Keane, J Quinn, N Grennan; S Casey, A Keenaghan, T Coughlan; K Hogan, C McManus (1-0); R Connor (1-0), N McNamee (0-6, three frees), J Reynolds; T Deehan (0-2), N Coughlan, K Casey. Subs: S Brady (1-0) for Hogan inj (26 mins), PJ Ward for N Coughlan (41 mins), K Slattery for Casey inj (42 mins).
Referee: C Reilly (Meath).
