Outclassed Leitrim blown away by whirlwind Laois start

The old adage of a good start is half the battle was never truer on Saturday in Ballinamore’s Pairc Sheain Ui Eslin as a rampant Laois hit the net three times inside the first nine minutes to shatter Leitrim’s challenge and put this crucial Allianz NFL Division 3 clash to bed very, very early.

Leitrim had beaten the O’Moore County twice in recent years but nobody was expecting a scoreline of this magnitude as it took the home side 31 minutes to register their first score, a score that left them trailing by a frankly astonishing 17 points!

Laois’ blistering start saw them hit the back of the net three times inside nine minute, Kevin Swayne, Pa Kirwin and Benny Carroll taking advantage of big gaps in the Leitrim rearguard and with those scores, any hope Steven Poacher’s side had of repeating the victories of the past two years were gone.

Confidence drained from the young and inexperienced Leitrim squad and the sight of talisman Barry McNulty on the sideline only heightened the frustration for Leitrim fans, the Glencar Manorhamilton man expected to miss between four and six weeks with a hamstring injury.

McNulty’s absence was enormous - apart from his physical power and ball winning ability, an area where Laois completely dominated, McNulty’s presence would have lifted his teammates and as the goals rained in, you could almost see the belief draining from the Leitrim squad.

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Laois were clever in how they approached the game - they found the space between the lines in the Leitrim defence and despite often being outnumbered, their physical power and precise passing cut open an overwhelmed Green & Gold rearguard and once they got their initial lead, there never looked as if a comeback was on.

A tough day got even tougher as Jordan Reynolds left the game with what looked like a serious injury before halftime, a depleted Leitrim seeing their resources stretched even further.

After showing some signs of promise against Clare in Ennis, despite the eventual scoreline, this was a day when Leitrim’s inexperience was well and truly exploited by a Laois side who were without quite a few of their Division 4 title winning team themselves but their strength in depth carried them to an easy victory.

Laois were stunned by the ease of their win every bit as much as Leitrim were by the scale of their defeat but the early goals put them on the front foot and they never took that foot off the gas, their intensity, tackling and ability to move the ball much quicker exploiting gaps in the Leitrim defence.

The Leitrim team who were defeated by Laois in Ballinamore Picture: Willie Donnellan

With Kildare in Ballinamore on Sunday week, it is hard to see how Leitrim lift themselves after this defeat as it looks set to be a long and tough League campaign for the Green & Gold.

Laois got off to what can only be described as a dream start - Ronan Coffey opened the scoring with a well worked point after a minute before Paul Honeyman put a Leitrim free well wide. Four minutes in, Brian Bryne released Benny Carroll and he played Kevin Swayne in for the first of three goals inside the first ten minutes.

Riordan O’Rourke shot wide for Leitrim before the home side had their own goal chance, a long ball found Tom Prior one on one but an unfortunate stumble robbed him of momentum. He got the ball off to Jordan Reynolds, the Mohill man’s palmed effort hitting the base of the post but he was called for a square infringement.

The importance of that missed opportunity was magnified with Laois’ next two attacks - a long ball foul Benny Carroll in behind the Leitrim defence, he offloaded to Pa Kirwin who finished cleverly from close range.

With Leitrim reeling, Kirwin then intercepted a poor Leitrim attacking pass a minute later. A quick ball found a raiding Trevor Collins and he set up Benny Carroll for a goal that came far too easily.

Laois then just dominated everything - Mark Barry hit three points, two from frees one of which was moved in for dissent while Damon Larkin weighed in with another at the half’s midway point to leave the visitors 3-5 to 0-0 ahead.

Barry lobbed over two more, Jack Kelly and Niall Corbet hit one apiece before Leitrim suffered another blow, Jordan Reynolds injured in the action of shooting a wide with Darren Cox the second sub on after 28 minutes.

Leitrim finally got their first score, Tom Prior scoring a nice point and the Ballinamore Sean O’Heslins clubman added another deep into injury time on his home pitch but Laois first over three in response, Jack Kelly, Barry and Corbet all scoring as Laois led 3-12 to 0-2 at the break.

With a 19 point deficit, there was no road back for Leitrim with the pace and urgency gone from the game. Laois added two more points from Barry (free) and sub Jonah Kelly before Keith Beirne’s two point effort got a touch on its way over. 

Laois continued to boss the proceedings - Pat Kirwin hit the game’s only two pointer on 50 minutes, Simon Fingleton became another Laois defender to score while sub keeper Conor Brown, barely on the field, raced upfield to fire over a fine point.

Leitrim’s only response was a Keith Keegan free as points from Corbet (mark) and Damon Larkin concluded Laois’ scoring for the day after 63 minutes. Sub Darren Cox got two late consolation points for Leitrim but the game meandered to its inevitable end long before the finale whistle sounded.

LEITRIM

Scorers: Tom Prior & Darren Cox 0-2 each; Keith Keegan & Keith Beirne 0-1 each

Team: Daire O'Shea; Eoin McLoughlin, Kieran Clancy, Sean Harkin, Eanna McNamara, Mark Diffley, Jack Foley; Jack Flynn, Keith Keegan; Paul Honeyman, Conor Quinn, Riordan O'Rourke; Jordan Reynolds, Keith Beirne, Tom Prior. Subs: James Rooney for S Harkin (19); Darren Cox for Reynolds (30); Cathal McHugh for E McLoughlin (37), Stephen McLoughlin for Foley (42); David Feeney for O'Rourke (59)

LAOIS

Scorers: Mark Barry 0-7, 5f; Pa Kirwan 1-2, 1tp; Niall Corbett 0-3, 1M; Kevin Swayne & Benny Carroll 1-0 each; Damon Larkin & James Kelly 0-2 each; Conor Brown, Simon Fingleton, Ronan Coffey & Jonah Kelly 0-1 each

Team: Killian Roche; Ben Dempsey, Simon Fingleton, Trevor Collins; Pa Kirwan, Brian Byrne, Seamus Lacey, Kevin Swayne, Damon Larkin; Daniel O'Reilly, Mark Barry, James Kelly (0-02); Ronan Coffey, Benny Carroll, Niall Corbett. Subs: Cathal Lee for Carroll (33); Jonah Kelly for Barry (43); Fionn Holland for Swayne (46); John Brennan for Coffey (56): Conor Brown for Roche (59)

Referee: Fergal Kelly (Longford)