Recent meetings: Dublin v Laois (senior hurling)

Dublin and Laois hurlers know each other well having clashed on several occasions in recent seasons - their paths cross once again this Saturday in O'Moore Park, Portlaoise (5.0) - a game that is available to watch live on GAA GO. 

Both counties will be eager to earn victory in this Allianz HL Division 1B game having lost their opening round ties.

Last year alone they met on three occasions - Championship, League, and Walsh Cup - with Mattie Kenny's men winning all three meetings.

The last time the counties met in Portlaoise the home side prevailed in the 2019 All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final.

Here we look back on their duels in 2020 and 2019.

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2020 LEINSTER SHC QUARTER-FINAL

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 24: Croke Park

DUBLIN 2-31 LAOIS 0-23

Dublin jumped the hurdle of Laois with 14 points to spare in this Leinster SHC first round clash at Croke Park.
Coming up to the first water break the Dubs led 0-7 to 0-6 but points from Donal Burke, a free after a foul on Ronan Hayes, Rian McBride and Chris Crummey after linking with Davy Keogh put Mattie Kenny's men 0-10 to 0-6 clear.
Donal Burke's accuracy was to have a major impact on proceedings as he hit 1-16 overall, including 10 frees and two 65s.
His scores came from a variety of distances and angles and he also provided the assist on other occasions in a stellar performance.
The Na Fianna man's goal came in the 27th minute when he raced through the Laois defence from 50 metres before applying a great finish as the angle tightened.
Before the interval Dublin moved clear with Burke converting his two 65s and Cian Boland grabbing one from play to lead 1-16 to 0-12.
The Dubs restarted well with three Donal Burke frees extending their advantage before Danny Sutcliffe hit his second point and now the boys in blue were 11 points clear.
Laois rallied with points from Jack Kelly, Paddy Purcell and Pádraig Delaney but their comeback was shortlived and over the close of the game they relied heavily on the freetaking of Ross King and keeper Enda Rowland for their scores.
By the second half water break Dublin were 1-24 to 0-21 up with Seán Moran getting on the scoresheet.
In the final ten minutes Dublin made certain of victory with Donal Burke bringing his tally to 1-16 and subs Eamonn Dillon and Mark Schutte bringing Dublin's number of scorers to ten players.
SCORERS – Dublin: D Burke 1-16 (0-10f, 0-2 '65'), E Dillon 1-1, C Crummey 0-3, C Burke, R McBride, D Sutcliffe, C Boland 0-2 each, S Moran, D Keogh, M Schutte 0-1 each. Laois: R King 0- 10 (0-9f, 0-1 '65'), S Maher, A Dunphy, E Rowland (0-2f), P Purcell 0-2 each, P Delaney, R Mullaney, F Fennell, J Kelly, J Ryan 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: A Nolan; P Smyth, E O’Donnell, J Madden; C Burke, D Gray, C O’Callaghan; S Moran, R McBride; C Boland, D Burke, D Sutcliffe; C Crummey, R Hayes, D Keogh. Subs: E Dillon for Hayes (50), L Rushe for Crummey (56), J Malone for Gray (61), M Schutte for Boland (68), S Barrett for Moran (72).
LAOIS: E Rowland; D Hartnett, R Broderick, L Cleere; P Delaney, R Mullaney, F Fennell; P Purcell, S Downey; J Keyes, A Dunphy, J Ryan; R King, S Maher, W Dunphy. Subs: J Kelly for Cleere (33), C McEvoy for Broderick (35+2), M Kavanagh for Keyes (h-t), C Phelan for Mullally (51), E Gaughan for Maher (68).
REF: P O’Dwyer (Carlow).

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2020 HL DIVISION 1 GROUP B

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 2: Parnell Park

DUBLIN 4-18 LAOIS 2-17

Dublin responded from their first day disappointment when defeating Laois by seven points in this HL Division 1 Group B clash at Parnell Park.
The Dubs hit three goals in the opening 15 minutes of the second half, two of them coming inside a minute early on, to drive them onto victory.
Dublin held a three-point lead at the break, 1-11 to 1-8, and Laois closed them immediately on the restart with a Ciarán McEvoy point.
However, goals from Oisín O’Rorke and Davy Keogh in quick succession in the 37th minute put Mattie Kenny’s men on the road to victory.
Fifteen minutes into the second half the influential Ronan Hayes grabbed Dublin’s fourth goal, following an athletic fetch, and when sub John Hetherton added a point, following a fine catch the home side were 4-13 to 1-12 clear.
They were never under threat thereafter despite the concession of a late goal to Willie Dunphy.
Dublin led 1-11 to 1-8 at half-time after a mixed opening half to this battle of familiar rivals. The Dubs would have held a stronger advantage but for the reflexes of Laois keeper Enda Rowland, who once again proved his ability.
SCORERS – Dublin: O O’Rorke 1-7 (0-6f, 0-1 ‘65’), D Keogh 1-2, S Moran 0-3 (0-2f), E Dillon, R Hayes 1-0 each, D Burke, J Hetherton 0-2 each, J Malone, R McBride 0-1. Laois: W Dunphy 2-1, R King 0-6 (0-5f), S Bergin, C McEvoy 0-2 each, E Rowland (0-1f), J Kelly, P Purcell, J Ryan, E Gaughan, A Dunphy 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: S Brennan; P Smyth, E O’Donnell, C O’Callaghan; C Crummey, D Gray, J Madden; S Moran, J Malone; M Schutte, D Sutcliffe, D Burke; E Dillon, R Hayes, O O’Rorke. Subs: D Keogh for Dillon (inj, 12), J Hetherton for Schutte (inj, 31), F Whitely for Madden (47), A Dunphy for O’Callaghan (inj, 38), R McBride for Sutcliffe (inj, 60).
LAOIS: E Rowland; L Senior, P Delaney, D Hartnett; D Conway, R Mullaney, C McEvoy; J Kelly, F Fennell; R King, P Purcell, J Ryan; A Dunphy, W Dunphy, S Bergin. Subs: J Lennon for Mullaney (ht), R Broderick for Senior (57), E Gaughan for A Dunphy (57), J Keyes for Purcell (61).
REF: D Hughes (Carlow).

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2020 WALSH CUP ROUND 1 (Rescheduled)

THURSDAY, JANUARY 9: Parnell Park

DUBLIN 1-28 LAOIS 0-17

Dublin hurlers put in a strong last 15 minutes to secure their third victory of the Walsh Cup group stage with this 14-point win over Laois at Parnell Park.
The Dubs finished the group phase as winners following successes against Westmeath, Carlow and Laois and progressed to face Galway in the Walsh Cup semi-final.
Mattie Kenny's men looked the better side overall but after leading 0-19 to 0-12 in the 46th minute they conceded three points in quick succession before finding their feet once again and advancing to victory.
John Hetherton got the only goal of the night when he rifled the sliotar to the net in the 61st minute as Dublin ran out comfortable winners with Alex O'Neill going close with another goal attempt three minutes from time.
Dublin held a 0-13 to 0-7 interval lead having played a mix of direct and combination hurling during the opening period.
In the middle third Fergal Whitely, Riain McBride, Cian Boland and Tom Connolly had Dublin on the front foot with Connolly firing over two points from play in the first half, he added three more in the second period.
At the back Dublin were secure with Jake Malone, in particular, getting through a lot of work at wing-back.
Eamonn Dillon was very lively for Dublin in the inside forward line and grew more influential as the half progressed, he finished with three points from play but also won a lot of primary possession and combined well with his fellow attackers at times.
Dublin had to resist a determined Laois comeback, led by Ross King, during the second half but some good scores from Mark Howard, Davy Keogh and Tom Connolly settled Kenny's men again.
Hetherton's goal, which came just after he had struck two points from play, put Dublin out of sight when he found the net after Lorcan McMullan had dropped a long delivery into the danger zone.
SCORERS – Dublin: J Hetherton 1-3, T Connolly, O O’Rorke (0-4f) 0-5 each, E Dillon, 0-3, F Whitely, M Howard 0-2 each, R McBride, R Hayes, A O’Neill, C Crummey, C Boland, D Burke, D Keogh, L McMullan 0-1 each. Laois: R King 0-7 (0-4f), A Bergin, A Dunphy, J Ryan 0-2 each, P Keating, S Bergin, E Rowland (0-1f), C Stapleton 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: A Nolan; A Dunphy, P Smyth, J Madden; C O’Callaghan, D Gray, J Malone; F Whitely, R McBride; R Hayes, C Boland, T Connolly; O O’Rorke, J Hetherton, E Dillon. Subs: C Crummey for Gray (ht), M Howard for O’Rorke (ht), K Burke for Smyth (ht), L McMullan for Whitely (ht), D Burke for Boland (ht), D Keogh for Hayes (41), P Crummey for O’Callaghan (47), O’Rorke for Dillon (47), A O’Neill for McBride (52), L Corcoran for Malone (55), Enda O’Donnell for Connolly (60), Connolly for Madden (68).
LAOIS: E Rowland; L Senior, F Flanagan, D Comerford; J Kelly, D Hartnett, R Mullaney; F Fennell, C Comerford; A Dunphy, J Keyes, J Ryan; P Keating, R King, A Bergin. Subs: P Purcell for Keyes (ht), P Delaney for Bergin (ht), C Stapleton for Mullaney (47), S Bergin for Keating (47), E Gaughan for Comerford (55), M Hennessey for Ryan (67).
REF: B Redmond (Wexford).

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2019 ALL-IRELAND SHC PRELIMINARY QUARTER-FINAL

SUNDAY, JULY 7: O'Moore Park, Portlaoise

LAOIS 1-22 DUBLIN 0-23

Dublin senior hurlers' summer was over after being rocked by a vibrant Laois in this All-Ireland SHC preliminary quarter-final at O'Moore Park, Portlaoise.
The Joe McDonagh winners, having defeated Westmeath just seven days previous, hurled with great vigour and energy while their game-plan worked a treat.
Dublin, for their part, failed to reach the highs of their previous outing, the Leinster SHC round-robin victory over Galway, with their hosts determining the terms of engagement of this duel.
The home side operated with a two-man full-forward line from the outset with Cha Dwyer partnering Paddy Purcell to telling effect to free up John Lennon to play the sweeper role.
Lennon did the job expertly and it was obvious from an early stage that Laois had done their work on how Dublin had unlocked the Galway defence - they were determined that a repeat was not on in Portlaoise.
The O'Moore County led from the start but Dublin did rally strongly in the second half to get level but crucially Laois lifted their game again with the long-range shooting keeping Dublin on the back foot.
Laois got a great start with the only goal of the game arriving in the ninth minute when Willie Dunphy didn't give up on a ball heading towards the endline and angled through on goal, Alan Nolan parried his effort but Aaron Dunphy was loitering and he batted the rebound to the net to give his side a 1-3 to 0-2 lead, Ronan Hayes doing well early on for Dublin.
Dublin didn't get too many sightings of goal but Eamonn Dillon did break through in the 28th minute but was denied by Laois keeper Enda Rowland at his near post.
The Dubs attack did not get their combination play going and Laois moved 1-12 to 0-8 ahead before Danny Sutcliffe began to work his way into the game and points from the St Jude's man and Conal Keaney reduced the deficit to 1-12 to 0-10 by the interval.
Dublin improved on the restart with the industrious Cian Boland hitting two points and Oisin O'Rorke adding a third.
The Dubs were coming stronger with O'Rorke firing over a free but vitally Aaron Dunphy and Mark Kavanagh replied for the home side and it was that ability to respond to every Dublin move by lifting their game again.
Dublin probably needed a goal to really ignite their charge for victory, Danny Sutcliffe went for the top corner from 20 metres but was denied by and athletic Enda Rowland full length save.
From the resulting '65' Oisin O'Rorke pointed and added two more converted free with Danny Sutcliffe flashing over a fine point to bring the sides level, 1-15 to 0-18, by the 55th minute.
But back came Laois again with their ability to find their man in space and strike well from range to push Dublin back.
The Dubs, who hit 16 wides overall, bombarded the Laois goal with aerial ball late on but it wasn't to be despite Laois being reduced to 14 players following the second yellow card dismissal of John Lennon.
Seán Moran had one late free for Dublin, it was at a difficult angle for a goal attempt and his high shot was parried over for a point and with it went Dublin's last change of salvaging anything.
SCORERS - Laois: M Kavanagh 0-9 (0-7f, 0-1 '65'), A Dunphy 1-2, W Dunphy 0-4, C Dwyer, E Rowland (0-2f) 0-2 each, J Kelly, P Purcell, R King 0-1 each. Dublin: O O'Rorke 0-12 (0-10f, 0-1 '65'), C Boland 0-3, R Hayes, D Sutcliffe 0-2 each, S Moran (0-1f), E Dillon, C Keaney, P Ryan (0-1f) 0-1 each.
LAOIS: E Rowland, L Cleere, M Whelan, J Phelan, J Kelly, R Mullaney, P Delaney, J Lennon, P Purcell, A Dunphy, M Kavanagh, E Lyons, W Dunphy, C Dwyer, R King. Subs: E Killeen for Delaney (53), C Phelan for Kelly (58), S Bergin for King (63), E Gaughan for Kavanagh (70).
DUBLIN: A Nolan, P Smyth, S Barrett, D O'Connell, C Crummey, S Moran, J Madden, S Treacy, T Connolly, C Keaney, D Sutcliffe, C Boland, O O'Rorke, R Hayes, E Dillon. Subs: F Whitely for Treacy (53), P Ryan for Keaney (57), J Hetherton for Boland (65).
REF: A Kelly (Galway).

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2019 HL DIVISION 1B

SUNDAY, MARCH 3: Parnell Park

DUBLIN 0-13 LAOIS 0-11

Dublin fended off Laois for victory in this HL Division 1B clash played in atrocious conditions at Parnell Park.
In advance the pitch underwent an inspection from referee Liam Gordon and it was passed but it was very tricky for players to illustrate any skill in impossible underfoot conditions.
However, the displays of Danny Sutcliffe and Liam Rushe gave the Dubs hope as the looked down the road to the summer ahead while the return to full competitive action for Cian Boland following injury was another boost.
Dublin started slowly and inside the opening quarter were trailing 0-3 to 0-6 to the O'Moore County men.
Indeed but for some fine goalkeeping by Dublin netminder Seán Brennan the Dubs would have found themselves further in arrears.
First he denied Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher from close-range when showing great reflexes. In the 20th minute he performed heroics again to stop a goal effort from Cha Dwyer and was also alert to stop a Mark Kavanagh shot coming up to half-time.
By the break Dublin had cut the gap to the minimum as two David Treacy frees saw his side trail 0-6 to 0-7 at the interval.
With his first touch following his introduction Oisín O’Rorke brought the sides level and Dublin quickly moved into a lead thanks to Shane Barrett's effort.
Laois lost Cha Dwyer to a second yellow card in the 57th minute but with just five minutes remaining the O'Moore County were in front.
But Dublin finished the stronger with two Sutcliffe points and a Seán Moran '65' securing victory for the home side. The Dubs finished the game with 14 players after Shane Barrett went off injured late on.
SCORERS – Dublin: D Sutcliffe, D Treacy (3f) 0-3 each, O O’Rorke, S Moran (0-1f, 0-1 ’65) 0-2 each, S Barrett, J Hetherton, C Boland 0-1 each. Laois: M Kavanagh 0-4 (0-3f), C Dwyer 0-2, E Rowland (0-1f), S Downey, A Dunphy, P Purcell, W Dunphy 0-1 each.
DUBLIN: S Brennan; P Smyth, E O’Donnell, J Madden; D Gray, S Moran, S Barrett; J Malone, R McBride; J Hetherton, D Sutcliffe, D Treacy; P Ryan, L Rushe, D Burke. Subs: O O’Rorke for Ryan (ht), C Boland for Malone (47), E Dillon for Burke (47), R Hayes for Hetherton (53), F Whitely for Treacy (66).
LAOIS: E Rowland; J Phelan, M Whelan, D Hartnett; P Delaney, R Mullaney, L Cleere; S Downey, W Dunphy; A Dunphy, M Kavanagh, C Dwyer; P Purcell, N Foyle, S Maher. Subs: S Bergin for W Dunphy (inj, 23), J Kelly for Maher (52), P Keating for Foyle (62), C Phelan for Downey (73).
REF: L Gordon (Galway).