Royal troops have reason to be wary of another Laois ambush

Paul Keane in preview box Andy McEntee is a manager on the up, on the verge of elevating Meath to a first Leinster final in five years, having already masterminded a return to Division 1 in the Allianz league.

Andy McEntee is a manager on the up, on the verge of elevating Meath to a first Leinster final in five years, having already masterminded a return to Division 1 in the Allianz league.

Yet, he should be worried, very worried, because when Meath teams come up against Laois in the championship, it is typically the Royal County manager that has come off worst. Seamus ‘Banty’ McEnaney’s last act as Meath manager, in 2012, was to shake hands with Justin McNulty after a qualifier defeat to Laois, while Eamonn Barry suffered the same fate in 2006, the agony of Meath’s loss to Laois that year compounded by the fact that it was in Navan.