Lacklustre Dubs given a real test by lively Laois

LEINSTER SFC QUARTER-FINAL:

Were Laois impressive? Yes. Were Dublin below their best? Yes. Reasons for cheer for everyone else, then? Well, yes and no. Not if they can win by that margin against a decent team while playing in such fits and starts.

The defeated underdogs emerged from Croke Park after this Leinster quarter-final having put the frights on Dublin and upheld their honour and yet they did so on the back of an 11-point defeat against a side far, far from their best.