Carlow take time to reflect after crushing defeat

Daniel St Ledger turned to referee Paddy Neilan late on Saturday evening and enquired how much was left on the watch. “12 minutes”, replied the Roscommon official. “It felt like an eternity,” the Carlow football captain admitted yesterday.

Carlow’s 17-point trouncing at the hands of Laois — 3-16 to 0-8 the final scoreline — wasn’t quite as traumatic as last summer’s 7-13 to 0-6 annihilation by Meath, but St Ledger says footballers donning the green, red and yellow are becoming all too familiar with such heavy beatings.

He doesn’t disagree with Tomás Ó Sé’s ‘men versus boys’ assessment of Saturday’s game and believes serious consideration must be given to proposals for a two-tier inter-county championship structure.