Meath hold out for the win

NFL DIVISION 2:

Meath 0-13 Laois 1-9, Pairc Tailteann

Meath withstood a late Laois rally to emerge as one-point winners of tonight's Allianz NFL Division 2 clash at Pairc Tailteann.

The sides were level on four occasions in a well-contested affair, with Laois losing MJ Tierney to a second yellow card in the 67th minute.

The O'Moore men led by 1-5 to 0-7 at the interval, thanks to a Billy Sheehan goal.

A Donie Kingston point gave Laois a 1-8 to 0-10 lead with nine minutes remaining, but Meath finished strongly with Michael Burke and Peadar Byrne most impressive.

Meath and Laois always seem to bring the best out of each other when it comes to National League meetings, and they failed to disappoint in this fast-paced encounter.

Laois started the game minus Peter O'Leary and Padraig McMahon, but still opened brightly.

The visitors led by 0-2 to 0-0 in the opening stages, but Meath rallied as they hit five unanswered points.

Cian Ward and Shane O’Rourke caused huge problems for the Laois defence in the opening quarter as the Royals claimed a 0-5 to 0-2 lead by the 13th minute.

But Sean Dempsey’s charged bounced back, and turn a three-point deficit into a two-point lead with eight minutes to go before the break.

Points from Tierney and Colm Begley cut the deficit to the minimum by the 22nd minute, before Kerry native Sheehan bagged the only goal of the contest.

Half-forward Sheehan bulged the net in the 27th minute, with Kingston playing a high ball in for the Emo clubman to pounce on and leave Paddy O'Rourke with no chance in the Meath goalmouth.

Tierney was unlucky not to slam home a second goal just a minute later, but Meath steadied the ship and scored two of the next three points, with Joe Sheridan and Ollie Lewis on target, before Tierney scored to give Laois a slender lead at the turnaround.

The sides traded points on the restart, but with Meath continuing to perform well in defence, and the likes of Cormac McGuinnes and Anthony Moyles coming to the fore, Laois were now struggling for scores.

At the opposite end Cian Ward brought Meath's wides tally to nine, however Eamon O'Brien's men were now showing great urgency in front of the posts and looked livelier in attack.

Shane O'Rourke missed a 48th minute goal chance, with the ball blocked out for a '45' which Cian Ward converted.

Ward's point tied the game at 0-9 to 1-6, and although Laois edged ahead thanks to a Kingston pointed free, Meath were soon level thanks to Lewis.

Kingston again obliged for Laois as he converted a 13-metre free, pushing the visitors ahead on the hour mark.

However, Meath finished with a late surge as points from Sheridan and Michael Burke gave the hosts a lead for the first time since the opening quarter.

Substitute Peadar Byrne further extended Meath's advantage, and while Laois notched the final point and dominated possession in injury-time, late wides from Kevin Meaney and Mark Timmons proved costly as the Royals prevailed.