Laois make hard work of it against Kerry

Laois 0-17 Kerry 0-12

Laois romped to a five-point victory and cemented third spot in Division 2 of the National Hurling League at Kilmoyley this afternoon.

The visitors took control early on, although Shane Brick from the host club opened the Kerry account with an early free.

A string of James Young pointed frees saw Laois take a 0-3 to 0-1 lead after ten minutes.

Niall Rigney’s charges were dealt a major blow at this stage after they lost key forward Zane Keenan with a leg injury.

The game was held up for almost a quarter-of-an-hour before the Camross native was taken to hospital by ambulance.

Despite this loss, two further points from Young along with a Willie Hyland point gave Laois a 0-6 to 0-1 cushion by the 34th minute.

Kerry were not without their scoring chances, however, with Brick missing a goal chance from a penalty after the Laois defence had his shot well marshalled.

But the Kingdom failed to lie down and just three points separated the sides when Brick added a score from a sideline free and full-forward James McCarthy added a further point.

Kerry’s dominance was short-lived though, and Laois got back on top with scores from Hyland, John Walsh and Young ensuring a comfortable 0-9 to 0-3 interval lead.

Laois reaffirmed their dominance on the restart with Hyland bringing his tally to three points, following another score 10 seconds after the restart.

Although Kerry matched the visitors well, Laois held a 0-12 to 0-6 cushion as the game entered the final quarter.

Kerry continued to battle with scores from the likes of Jason Carey, but Laois rose to the task again as points from Dayne Peacock, Hyland and substitute Tommy Fitzgerald copperfastened the win.