Tipperary stay on promotion trail

Tipperary 1-16 Laois 1-10: Their county board delegates may have gone against the football fraternity and helped the so-called All-Ireland Super 8 series become a reality, but Tipperary shrugged that disappointment aside with another eye-catching performance to keep their promotion hopes alive at O’Moore Park.

Liam Kearns had echoed the views of the majority of football managers and inter-county players when insisting the system was designed to ensure his charges, and teams of their ilk, could never repeat their epic run to the last four that lit up the 2016 championship.

While they were far from perfect on Saturday and could be glad of some wayward Laois shooting, as well as two magnificent saves by Evan Comerford from the Kingston brothers Donie and Paul, Tipp were deserving winners, displaying a hunger for industry and strong, direct running and support play that tore Laois apart in the first half in particular.