Down hammer abject Laois to claim Tailteann Cup final spot

Congratulations to Down, who secured a shot at Meath in the final of the Tailteann Cup next month, but the story here was the shambles of a non-performance from a Laois team that offered next to nothing over the course of the first hour.

Tight wins against Fermanagh and Limerick suggested Billy Sheehan’s men had discovered something of value after a hugely disappointing season but losing by 27 points to Dublin in Leinster is one thing. A 22-point defeat to Down in the Tailteann Cup is another again.

The margin actually ballooned to 27 at one stage and Down could have emulated or even bettered the Cork hurlers who managed ten goals against Laois in 2011, had they converted one or two of the four or five more gilt-edged chances they… The temptation is to use the word ‘created’ there but Conor Laverty’s men had to do little more than keep their feet at times. Odhran Murdock looked almost sheepish as he tapped in their sixth goal after 50 minutes.

This was apocalyptic stuff and the backdrop was appropriate with the skies darkening soon after throw-in and much of the first-half played to a soundtrack of thunder and the odd flash of lightning.

There were calls for a root and branch rethink in the county after that embarrassing defeat at home to the Dubs and the proponents of change will have to be emboldened after what must inevitably be labelled a ‘new low’ for the senior team.

How many has there been now?

Laois football has been gripped in a death spiral for far too long. This game came 20 years and ten days after their breakthrough Leinster semi-final victory over Dublin when over 57,000 people turned up at HQ. Kildare were beaten in the final a month later.

How those mighty days have fallen away.

The streams of Meath and Antrim supporters away from the stadium after the opening game spoke volumes but they might have wished they stayed on for the first-half given the deluge of goals and the opening of the skies.

Rather than get soaked on the way to their cars and buses, they could have been rewarded with four Down goals inside the first quarter, Liam Kerr claiming two with Danny Magill and Pat Havern signing for the others.

Three of the four were old testament goals, runners off the shoulders parting the Laois defence like the Red Sea and allying those efforts with, in fairness, sublime finishes that gave goalkeeper Killian Roche no chance.

No modern, massed defences here.

The fourth was more fortune. Kerr mishitting a finish beyond the keeper and a defender after a teammate had hit a post with a point attempt but Laois hardly deserved any better such was their openness at the back.

That weakness has been apparent all season and played a huge part in their failure to escape Division 4 of the league and they were just as poor going forward with very little in the way of numbers or system as they looked in the direction of Hill 16.

It took Laois over half-an-hour to claim a score - their fourth – from play. Down had already racked up 4-8 by then, only one point of that coming from a dead ball. Their lead at the break was an eye-watering 18 points.

Bleak. And it kept getting worse. Kerr claimed his hat-trick on the restart and Murdock, Ryan Mason and Magill, with his second, claiming another three green flags between them. Each one adding to the embarrassment all round.

Laois claimed 2-5 in the last ten minutes, Kevin Swayne managing their first goal and Mark Barry getting another from the penalty spot. Depressing stuff and hardly much use to Down as they look ahead to the decider.

Scorers for Down: L Kerr (3-2); D Magill (2-0); P Havern (1-3); O Murdock (1-1): R Mason (1-1, 0-1 free); E Branagan (0-3); P Branagan (0-2); C Doherty (0-2, 0-1 mark); R Johnston (0-1); N Kane (0-1 free).

Scorers for Laois: M Barry (1-6, 1-0 penalty, 0-5 frees); K Swayne (1-0); E Lowry (0-2, 0-1 mark); P Kingston, E O’Carroll, D Kavanagh (all 0-1); K Roche (0-1 ‘45’).

Down: N O’Kane; P McCarthy, P Laverty, A Doherty; M Rooney, C Doherty, S Johnston; D Guinness, O Murdock; L Kerr, R Mason, D Magill; E Branagan, P Havern, R Johnston.

Subs: R McEvoy for Laverty (HT); A Annett for Guinness (43); P Branagan for Doherty (43); R Carr for Havern (47); D McAleenan for R Johnston (49); R O’Hare for S Johnston (54).

Laois: K Roche; S Greene, T Collins, R Pigott; P Kirwan, M Timmons, P O’Sullivan; K Lillis, D Larkin; C Murphy, P Kingston, J Finn; M Barry, E O’Carroll, E Lowry.

Subs: S O’Flynn for Kirwan, K Swayne for Murphy and A Mohan for Collins (all HT); D Kavanagh for Timmons (38); N Corbet for Murphy (63).

Referee: B Tierney (Dublin).