No margin for error now

From reigning champs to qualifier chumps, Declan O’Loughlin remembers rightly the impact of the six-day turnaround.

It was 2004 and having won the Leinster SFC title the previous year Laois were fancied to negotiate the challenge posed by Páidí Ó Sé’s Westmeath.

The underdogs won a famous first provincial crown in a replay leaving Laois with just six days to recover for a qualifier against Tyrone.