Quinn unleashes knockout blow

Laois 0-13 Dublin 0-14

He had the misfortune to kick a free out of his hands narrowly wide from a similar distance a minute later, before centre-back Tom Kelly was similarly out of luck from play on the other side. It seemed that Paul Caffrey's confident side were destined to win in Croke Park yesterday and herald celebrations which belied the fact that they were champions only three years ago.

That mini-drama, played out in an injury-time period which extended to five minutes, encapsulated the essence of the game.