14-man Dublin beat Laois to claim first O'Byrne Cup crown in five years

John Small was dismissed in the 31st-minute for an off-the-ball incident that left Evan O'Carroll requiring treatment

Dublin captain Ciarán Kilkenny with the silverware after the O'Byrne Cup final win against Laois at Netwatch Cullen Park in Carlow. Picture: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Dublin 1-13 Laois 0-11

Netwatch Cullen Park

We'll keep an eye out for Robert Shaw in the coming weeks having made his Dublin debut as a 72nd-minute substitute in this afternoon's O'Byrne Cup final defeat of Laois.

The Castleknock man became the 40th player to see match action this month and, with next Saturday's Allianz League opener against Armagh still to come, the Dubs could finish January having looked at well over 45 players.

It was the tried and trusted - stand-in captain Ciaran Kilkenny and talisman midfielder Brian Fenton - that did most to engineer this latest triumph, leading a powerful second-half display from a team down to 14 players.

John Small was dismissed in the 31st minute for an off-the-ball incident that left old adversary Evan O'Carroll - Small also was sent off in the 2018 Leinster final for clashing with O'Carroll - holding his nose and requiring treatment.

Kieran Kennedy of Dublin in action against Eoin Lowry of Laois during the O'Byrne Cup final match between Dublin and Laois at Netwatch Cullen Park. Picture: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

But there was plenty of experimentation at play overall with Lee Gannon and Ross McGarry, two members of Dublin's U20 team when they reached the 2020 All-Ireland final, impressing and pinching important scores too.

"One of the challenges we discovered from last year is just about the pipeline," said Dublin manager Dessie Farrell, explaining the heavy experimentation. "It's a number of years now since we had a significant cohort of players come through the ranks. I think 2017 was the last batch and that's five years this year, so it's a long time to go without one or two players stepping up and making a real contribution."

Sean Bugler's fifth-minute goal was crucial and gave Dublin a vital cushion throughout. With Aaron Byrne and Harry Ladd also on the mark, they led 1-5 to 0-6 at half-time, although they were reduced in numbers following Small's exit.

Laois were back level with just over 20 minutes to go thanks to points from the excellent O'Carroll and Mark Barry but were outscored by 0-8 to 0-3 from there on as the favourites finished strongly, collecting a first O'Byrne Cup title since 2017.

Dublin scorers: S Bugler (1-0); C Costello (0-2, 0-1f free), C Kilkenny, R McGarry, B Fenton an A Byrne (0-2 each); H Ladd, L Gannon (1 mark) and T Lahiff (0-1 each).

Scorers for Laois: M Barry (0-4, 3 frees); E O'Carroll (0-3); S Moore (0-2, 2 frees); D Bolger (1 '45) and G Walsh (0-1 each).

Dublin: M Shiel; L Gannon, D Byrne, E Murchan; T Lahiff, J Small, K Kennedy; B Fenton, C McCormack; R McGarry, C Kilkenny, S Bugler; C Costello, H Ladd, A Byrne.

Subs: N Scully for Ladd (HT); L O'Dell for McCormack (52); W Egan for McGarry (58); K McGinnis for Costello (69); R Shaw for Byrne (72).

Laois: D Bolger; J Kelly, T Collins, A Mohan; S O'Flynn, J O'Loughlin, C Fennessy; K Lillis, J Finn; B Byrne, E Lowry, C Murphy; M Barry, E O'Carroll, S Moore.

Subs: G Walsh for O'Carroll (32-34, blood); D O'Reilly for Murphy (50); D Kavanagh for O'Flynn (54); Walsh for Moore (57); B Daly for Finn (60); C Doyle for Fennessy and P Dunne for Lillis (both 69); D Doyle for Byrne (70).

Referee: C Reilly (Meath).