Laois pull off comeback bid

Laois 2-12 Derry 1-15

Half-back Zach Tuohy was the second half hero for Laois as the Portlaoise man kicked two goals to send today's cracking All-Ireland MFC semi-final against Derry to a replay.

Despite the sides being equal in the possession stakes at the end of the opening half at Croke Park, it was Derry who had proved the more potent in front of goal as they held a 0-10 to 0-4 lead at the interval.

Nothing separated the sides in the opening minutes of this contest and Derry opened their account after a minute-and-a-half with a pointed free from midfielder James Kielt, before Laois equalised less than two minutes later with a point from impressive full-forward Conor Meredith.

However this was as close as the teams would get to each other in terms of scoring as the Oak Leafers convincingly broke clear.

Declan Mullan put the beaten Ulster finalists back in front before Laois piled on the pressure as Meredith blocked a kickout from Derry goalkeeper Andrew Warnock but the full-forward was unable to put the ball in the net and watched his shot go wide of the target.

Points from Aidan Heron and Christopher McKaigue saw Derry quickly build up a 0-4 to 0-1 lead by the seventh-minute but Laois hassled hard and good work by Donal Kingston cut the gap to two points.

Laois missed an excellent chance to reduce the gap to the minimum when Meredith kicked inches wide of the posts and Derry responded well with points from Gavin McGeehan and Aidan Heron to ensure a 0-6 to 0-2 lead for their side at the end of the opening quarter.

An Eddie Kelly point reduced the gap to three but Derry dominated the closing 14 minutes of the opening half with points from Kielt and defender McKaigue extending the gap to seven points.

Laois battled hard until the interval and a Donal Kingston point, Laois's first of the day from a free, cut the gap to 0-10 to 0-4.

Derry emerged strongly for the second half but kicked two wides inside as many minutes with Laois more clinical in their use of possession at this stage as they claimed the first score of the half through Meredith.

Laois were beginning to assume more control and an excellent spell of play from them brought the sides level for only the second time, 12 minutes after the resumption.

Two Kingston scores cut the deficit to three points before Laois conjured up a well-worked goal in the 42nd-minute. A long ball in from Laois captain Sean Rambsbottom was fielded cleanly by Kingston before he dispatched the ball to the unmarked Tuohy who planted the bal to the back of the Derry net with a measured finish.

Laois then had two good chances for an equaliser but Meredith kicked wide from a close range free before substitute Kieran Farrell watched his kick for a point come off the upright as the game entered the final quarter.

However Laois were soon to be punished with points from Aidan Heron (0-2), Declan Mullan and Lee Moore restoring a five-point advantage for Derry.

The Oak Leaf youngsters' first and only goal of the contest then came, seven minutes from the end, from the boot of Moore after he rounded Laois corner-back Joe O'Connor.

However Laois were not going to give up without a fight and two quick points reduced the gap to six with five minutes remaining.

Laois were pressing hard for a goal at this stage but a fine save by Derry goalkeeper Andrew Warnock came after a blistering Meredith shot. Tuohy cut the gap from the resulting 45-metre kick and a fifth point of the day from Kingston made it a four-point game.

This was certainly a period of sustained pressure from Laois and Tuohy's second goal along with a late injury-time point from Kingston completing a stunning comeback from the midlanders, with the replay to take place next weekend.

LAOIS: C O'Shea; R Kehoe, J Mulhare, J O'Connor; K Lillis, C Boyle, Z Tuohy (2-1, 1 '45'); D Lowry, J O'Loughlin; S Ramsbottom, E Kelly (0-1), B Smyth; J Doyle, C Meredith (0-2), D Kingston (0-6, 0-3f).

Subs used: K Farrell (0-2) for Lowry (23 mins), B Glynn for Kelly, K Hyland for Doyle (both 55), S Miller for Smyth (59).

DERRY: A Warnock; M McKinney, C McWilliams, D Bell; C McKaigue (0-2), J F Bradley, B Henry; J Kielt (0-3, 0-2f), C O'Boyle; S Cleary, A Heron (0-4), D Mullan (0-3); N Forrester, G McGeehan (0-1), L Moore (1-2, 0-1f).

Subs used: L Kennedy for Cleary (half-time), L Morrow for Bell (46 mins), P Heaney for O'Boyle (50), D Hevron for McGeechan (57).

Referee: Rory Hickey (Clare)