In contrast to last year’s Tailteann Cup, where Down dominated Laois with eight goals, this year Down didn’t register a single green flag. Despite the lack of goals, Down yet again achieved a notable victory at Croke Park. Previously, they trounced Laois with a score of 8-16 during the cup’s semi-final stage. Despite reaching the final, Conor Laverty’s team had to admit defeat to Meath.
A changing trend was witnessed this year, as Down held a five-point lead in the early part of extra time. This lead was narrowed to two points due to an exhilarating strike by Laois’ Mark Barry. Shortly after, a failed point attempt by Barry himself and a missed goal opportunity by Laois were among the crucial moments of the match.
However, had Laois emerged victorious, it would have been considered an undeserved win. Down proved their worth and will compete for Sam as an All-Ireland SFC team in 2025. The man of the match was Odhran Murdock, whose contribution was instrumental to Down’s victory. Likewise, second-half replacement Danny Magill played a crucial part in the six consecutive points scored by Down, providing a significant buffer against Laois’ late goal.
The previous semi-final between these two teams saw Down make an early impact, and there were signs of a similar strategy this year, claiming three points in the opening four minutes. Credits for these points go to Liam Kerr, Pat Havern, and Shealan Johnston. Kerr, who had a significant achievement of 3-2 against Laois previously, got recalled after scoring 0-3 against Sligo. Despite wearing number 14, Havern reprised his role in midfield. Despite rumours of being replaced by Ryan Magill, Johnston started the game as expected.
In the thrilling contest that followed their victory over Sligo during extra time, Down brought back Kerr, alongside Jonny Flynn and James Guinness, making a total of three changes to their line-up. Despite an initially challenging start, Laois, who kept their original team, sequence a high-scoring drive, making it 1-2 between the seventh and 15th minute.
Division 4 winners, Laois, took the lead when Seamus Lacey bagged a crucial goal during the 11th minute, making the scoreboard read 1-1 to 0-3. This was after he was set up nicely by a pressured punch from Down’s goalkeeper, John O’Hare, who was rigorously pestered by Brian Byrne.
However, following Evan O’Carroll’s 15th-minute score, Laois’s scoring fell off a cliff for the rest of the first half. Just one more point was added to their tally, and they stalled until the 38th minute before they recorded another point from open play, courtesy of Conor Heffernan’s long-range hit.
Contrastingly, Down retained possession a great deal and, despite four subsequent misses, they lead the half 0-8 to 1-3, having scored four of the next five points. Goalkeeper for Laois, Killian Roche, arguably the top goalkeeper this season, had 14 successful first-half kick-outs. The conspicuous issue for Laois was they continually lost possession further upfield, which allowed Down to seize the advantage. Murdock recorded two top-notch points for Down, one with each foot, although the plethora of misses and a short attempt from Kerr compounded their frustration.
The teams shared six points evenly in the third quarter; Laois first taking the lead with three consecutive scores before Down matched them stride for stride. Down’s resurgence was predominantly credited to Magill’s 44th-minute entry. The former Down goal machine registered consecutive points and then assisted Murdock for his third. At 0-11 to 1-6, the scores remained frozen until substitute Caolan Mooney stretched Down’s lead by three at the one-hour mark.
Down broadened their lead to five, scoring six consecutive points between the 46th and 69th minute. Laois seemed to be on the ropes but recovered dramatically with a last-minute goal from Barry in injury time, setting the stage for a tense and captivating finale.
Covering the match from Down, we had J O’Hare along with players P Fegan (0-1), R McEvoy, and P Laverty. M Rooney, D Guinness, and S Johnston (0-1) were also on the field, joined by Ó Murdock (0-3) and P Havern (0-3, including one free kick). P McCarthy, J Flynn (0-1), and L Kerr (0-1) competed alongside J Guinness, R Johnston (0-1), and J McGovern. Substitutes included C Mooney (0-1), who replaced McGovern at the 39-minute mark, D Magill (0-2) who subbed for Rooney at 44 minutes, R Magill, who came in for J Guinness at 57 minutes, C McCrickard, who stepped in for R Johnston at 69 minutes, and F McElroy, who replaced Kerr at 73 minutes.
On the Laois side, were K Roche (0-1, earned from a free kick), J Kelly, S Fingleton, and M Timmons. S Lacey (1-0), B Byrne, B Dempsey, D Larkin, and C Heffernan (0-1) also played. N Dunne, E Lowry, and K Swayne played alongside M Barry (1-2, with one free kick), E O’Carroll (0-1) and P Kingston (0-1, including a free kick). Substitutes included R Murphy, who stepped in for Lowry at 57 minutes, S Fitzpatrick who replaced Kingston at the 66th minute, K Lillis and C Burke who came on for Larkin and Dunne respectively on the 69th minute, followed by E Buggie who replaced Kelly at 71 minutes. The referee in charge was B Griffin from Kerry.