Injury time heartbreak for Laois as Wickow strike late to end 2021 Leinster U-20 campaign

Laois 2-8 Wicklow 2-11
Leinster U-20 Football Championship Round 1

Laois’s Leinster U-20 football campaign is over after a late Wicklow surge saw them eliminated in Round 1.

Eddie Kinsella’s charges were three points up with five minutes to go but Matthew Ging came off the bench to fire over three consecutive scores with a late Eoin Darcy goal in extra time the winner.

Laois played with the breeze in the first half and managed the opening quarter perfectly until the stroke of the water break.

Colin Dunne got them off to a good start with a free but that was instantly wiped out by Johnny Keogh.

The next significant action came after eight minutes with the game’s first goal.

Kevin Swayne won a Wicklow kick-out and charged forward before popping the ball to Rioghan Murphy who tucked it into the corner of the net.

Wicklow almost responded with a goal when Kevin Quinn carved Laois open and flicked the ball across to Eoin Darcy who fisted it off the crossbar and over.

Murphy landed a free for Laois but with the final kick of the quarter, Cillian McDonald’s crossfield ball found Darcy unmarked at the back post and he made no mistake this time – 1-2 apiece at the water break.

Laois responded well on the resumption of play with two more Dunne frees and another from Murphy with a Wicklow mark from Kevin Quinn in between.

Then five minutes before half time, some great work in midfield from Damon Larkin, Ciaran Burke and Conor Goode resulted in the ball finding its way to Adam Dunne – who had been switched to centre back – and he finished neatly to the net.

Wicklow recovered with a free from Keogh and a point from Quinn but a black card to wing back Craig Maguire on the stroke of half time meant they would play the first ten minutes of the second half with 14 men – as Laois led 2-5 to 1-5.

Laois made use of the spare man instantly as Kevin Swayne swung one over from 40 metres.

Laois couldn’t add to that though and Johnny Keogh landed a free for Wicklow just as they were restored to 15 men.

And just on the water break, Sam O’Dowd stroked one over to cut the gap to two – Laois 2-6 Wicklow 1-7.

Laois regained their three point lead on the resumption when Burke won a brilliant kick out and started a move that ended with Adam Dunne pointing.

Wicklow sub Matthew Ging narrowed the gap to two again but Colin Dunne’s wonderful point put three in it again with seven minutes to play.

Ging converted a second free and then a third as the gap was now one in the final minute of normal time.

There was huge controversy about Wicklow’s equaliser then as Eamonn Delaney appeared to be clearly fouled after winning a kick-out but referee Alan Coyne waved play on and the ball came to Ging who levelled it as we headed for four minutes of injury time.

And it was here where Wicklow won it. Full back Malachy Stone’s shot was blocked by Rioghan Murphy but the ball spilled out to Eoin Darcy who scored off the inside of the post.

SCORERS – Laois: Rioghan Murphy 1-2 (two frees), Adam Dunne 1-1, Colin Dunne 0-4 (three frees), Kevin Swayne 0-1 Wicklow: Eoin Darcy 2-1, Matthew Ging 0-4 (three frees), Johnny Keogh 0-3 (three frees), Kevin Quinn 0-2 (one mark), Sam O’Dowd 0-1

LAOIS: Tom Wright; Cathal Bennett , Sean Greene, Adam Dunne; Eamonn Delaney, Allan Connolly, Fionn Holland; Kevin Swayne, Ciaran Burke; Rioghan Murphy, Damon Larkin, Sean O’Neill; Ross Bolger, Colin Dunne, Conor Goode. Subs: Sean Michael Corcoran for Swayne (33, reversed 36), Daragh Galvin for Bolger and Ben Dempsey for Holland (both 48), Josh Lacey for O’Neill (58)

WICKLOW: Jack Sargent; Chris Grimes, Malachy Stone, Tom Moran; Gavin Fogarty, Zach Cullen, Craig Maguire; Eoghan Byrne, Sam O’Dowd; Kevin Quinn, Johnny Keogh, Cillian McDonald; Oisin Cullen, Sean Crowley, Eoin Darcy. Subs: Jordan Bradley for Maguire (40), Matthew Ging for O Cullen (49)

Referee: Alan Coyne (Westmeath)

SEE ALSO – ‘You can expect to meet him down the local’ – Billionaire Irish entrepreneur plans to live in Laois town following €20m mansion purchase

The post Injury time heartbreak for Laois as Wickow strike late to end 2021 Leinster U-20 campaign appeared first on Laois Today.

source https://www.laoistoday.ie/2021/07/01/injury-time-heartbreak-for-laois-as-wickow-strike-late-to-end-2021-leinster-u-20-campaign/