| Last-gasp Louth snatch a draw
 Laois
1-13
Louth 2-10
Allianz National Football League, Division 1B
An enthralling and thrilling contest produced many pointers for the Championship
as dogged Louth and flamboyant Laois played out a scintillating draw in
Portlaoise.
The Wee County men are many people’s dark horses in the Leinster Championship
this year and they showed that they are a match for a full-strength Laois
with this performance.
Louth are a team of few individual stars but all of their players work hard
and their forward line gave an exhibition of accurate kicking with five
of their six forwards scoring from play.
Since Liam Kerins succeeded Mick O’Dwyer in the Laois hot seat the
Midlanders have been in transition. Their old failings came back to haunt
them on Sunday as their lack of physical guile left them flattened at times.
Aaron Hoey’s goal after five minutes set Louth on their way but Laois
hit back with efforts from Beano McDonald and Barry Brennan.
Paul Lawlor and McDonald cancelled out a brace of Darren Clarke scores for
the visitors to ensure the teams went in at the break level 1-5 to 0-8.
It was Laois’s turn to enjoy a dream start to the second-half with
Brennan goaling from close range.
Mark Stansfield missed a penalty and Laois were two points up with 15 minutes
to go.
Previous Louth teams would have folded as soon as they went behind but Seamus
McEnaney has instilled a new belief in his players and they battled back
bravely. It needed last-gasp points from McDonald and Chris Conway to salvage
a draw for Laois.
It is a sign of how far Louth football has come in recent seasons that manager
McEnaney was disappointed not to have won in Portlaoise while Liam Kerins
was relieved that his Laois team secured a draw.
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