Despite slow start, Mike Quirke and Laois progress to Leinster semi-final
Trevor Collins of Laois is tackled by Iarla O'Sullivan of Longford. Picture: Ray McManus/Sportsfile
Few teams have fashioned victories from near-certain defeat as often as Laois this year and Mike Quirke's side performed another unlikely act of escapology in this Leinster quarter-final today. So much so that Longford must still be wondering how the visitors slipped their chains.
Twice, once in each half, they stared oblivion in the face but an unanswered seven-point haul midway through the second-half ultimately proved the winning of the game for a side just doesn't know when it is beaten.
It's a trait the O'Moores have displayed time and again in the league, most notably away to Roscommon, Clare and Fermanagh, but it's not the sort of routine that will turn the result on its head in Croke Park next week against a Dublin side that tends to suffocate even those opponents who don't leave it this late to find their stride.
“Handy one, yeah,” said Quirke of their next performance. “I was watching them (Saturday) night and we know that they are one of the greatest teams to ever play the game. As a Kerryman, that is a tough thing to say but they are, there is no question about it.
“Westmeath were beaten by 11 or 12 or whatever and that shows how dominant they are in this province. It is a tough ask but we haven't even thought about it yet. We tried to focus on Longford because we're not good enough or consistent enough to start looking at Dublin before we play this game and get this done.”
He's right. Laois are consistent only in their inconsistency right now.
They started both halves sluggishly here and fell behind by five points both times. It should have been more. Only two one-on-one Niall Corbet saves, from Donal McEligott and Dessie Reynolds, kept them alive long enough after the interval to push on and win.
It was much the same in the first period with Longford sweeping through their rearguard time and again and Padraic Davis will look back and rue the fact that the only goal his side managed all afternoon was Reynolds' after eight minutes.
“They're wide open,” screamed one Longford player just minutes in.
He wasn't wrong.
If Corbet kept Laois in the hunt later on then it was a superbly worked team goal finished off by Paul Kingston midway through the opening half that initially gave them a platform from which to perform on a balmy November day all but devoid of any wind and spared any rain.
But even their strong periods were tainted by some poor shooting and deliveries into the forward line. Laois would finish with 15 wides, shots that fell short or passes that dribbled over the end line. That's all the more frustrating when the likes of Evan O'Carroll, Kingston and Gary Walsh are firing.
There is a solid bedrock there for Laois to work off. Corbett was just as good with his deliveries as his shot-stopping, Mark Timmons is a full-back Quirke says could have held the square for Kerry this last decade or so and Daniel O'Reilly and John O'Loughlin are strong operators in the middle third.
It's unlikely that Colm Begley will recover from the injury which kept him sidelined here in time for the Dubs next weekend but Kieran Lillis will be eligible again for a midfield role after serving a suspension arising from the last game against Fermanagh.
Quirke's year has already been a success with Division Two status retained and a top-four seeding for Leinster in 2021 secured on the back of this two-point win.
Victory against the All-Ireland champions is not a magic act within their limited powers but that refusal to lie down will still be needed against a side that never pulls up before the 70th-minute.
“If you keep doing something it probably isn't coincidence or luck,” said the Laois manager of that fighting spirit. “They have great resolve and determination that the game isn't over until the final whistle goes. They will keep grinding away.”
D Reynolds (1-1); R Brady (0-5, 2f); D Mimnagh and D McElligott (both 0-2); I O'Sullivan, L Connerton, J Hagan and D Gallagher (f) all 0-1.
G Walsh (0-8, 7f); D Kingston (1-1): T Collins, J O'Loughlin, M Barry, E O'Carroll, M Keogh, S O'Flynn and R Munnelly (mark) all 0-1.
P Collum; P Fox, A Farrell, B O'Farrell; D McElligott, G Rogers, I O'Sullivan; D Gallagher, K Diffley; CP Smyth, R Brady, D Reynolds; D Mimnagh, L Conerton, D Doherty.
J Hagan for Rogers (52); P Lynn for Reynolds (61); R Smyth for Flaherty (65); L Hughes for I O'Sullivan (70); L Moran for CP Smyth (75).
N Corbet; T Collins, M Timmons, B Byrne; E Buggie, S Lacey, R Pigott; D O'Reilly, J O'Loughlin; G Dillon, P Kingston, E Lowry; G Walsh, E O'Carroll, M Barry.
M Keogh for Lowry (HT); S O'Flynn for Lacey (43); R Munnelly for Barry (48); P O'Sullivan for Buggie (68); D Whelan for Walsh (75).
S Hurson (Tyrone).
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