Minor Hurlers Finish strong to see off Laois

DUBLIN 1-20 LAOIS 0-17

Dublin advanced to the semi-finals of the Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Hurling Championship following their six-point victory over Laois at O’Moore Park on Monday evening.

After a tricky opening, the Dubs managed to settle through a 17^th minute goal from Callum Graham and they maintained marginal control to lead by two points at the interval.

Crucially, they preserved that advantage on the scoreboard for the bulk of the second-half, despite the dismissal of Daniel O’Kelly in the 49^th minute, and they pulled away in the closing stages as Laois saw themselves reduced to thirteen players by the final whistle.

The free-taking of Dublin’s David Purcell and Laois’ Eoghan Murphy was a feature of the contest with a brace of Purcell frees cancelled out by a Caelum O’Brien point and a Murphy free in the 3^rd minute.

The hosts pushed three points clear as the contest evolved with Murphy’s brace of placed balls augmented by an excellent score from Justin Duggan.

However, their momentum stalled as Dublin struck for the game’s solitary goal through Graham and after Laois had failed to convert a penalty, the St Jude’s player added a point three minutes later to edge his side a point ahead.

The contest continued with both sides trading scores at regular intervals with a fine Conor Newton point and a Purcell free nullified by placed balls from Murphy and Duggan and while the former levelled matters in the 27^th minute, it was Dublin that ended the half on a relative high.

Graham too k his personal tally for the half to 1-3 with two well-taken points and the impressive Mícheál Ó Tighearnaigh was also on target as Dublin enjoyed a 1-8 to 0-9 by half-time.

Murphy wasted little time in halving his team’s deficit with another free but a trio of Purcell scores ensured that the visitors kept their noses in front as the intensity was raised to a higher level.

Jordan Downey and O’Kelly exchanged points before the latter saw red after a bout of retaliation but the numerical disadvantage never truly troubled his side in the final quarter.

Another Purcell brace and Ó Tighearnaigh’s second of the night pushed Dublin four points clear by the 55^th minute before O’Brien received a second yellow approaching added time to further undermine Laois’ chances.

Full-back Ryan Peters also received his marching orders late on as Dublin confirmed their place in the last four thanks to late points from Purcell and Ó Tighearnaigh.

Scorers – Dublin: D Purcell 0-11 (8f, 1 ’65), C Graham 1-4, M Ó Tighearnaigh 0-3, C Newton, D O’Kelly 0-1 apiece. Laois: E Murphy 0-11 (8f, 2 ’65), J Duggan 0-3 (2f), C O’Brien, J Downey, S Connolly 0-1 apiece.

Dublin: J Mooney; F Murphy, M Pappalardo, L Mooney; R O’Neill, J Sheppard, W Wheatley; T Costello, D O’Kelly; M Ó Tighearnaigh, R Murphy, J Kennedy; C Graham, D Purcell, C Newton. Subs: A Gargan for Kennedy (half-time), D Kilduff for R Murphy (46), L Dargan for F Murphy (57), K Costello for Mooney (65).

Laois: E Lafferty; O Gorman, R Peters, E Quinn; P O’Callaghan, E Cassin, L Whelan; R Kavanagh, J Downey; C O’Brien, E Murphy, B O’Mara; M Downey, C Byrne, J Duggan. Subs: K Cuddy for Downey (44), S Connolly for O’Mara (55), C Hill for Quinn (62), E Bracken for Whelan (62).

Referee: Gearóid McGrath (Wexford).