The Tailteann Cup semi-final on Sunday afternoon saw Laois triumph over Antrim by five points, largely due to two decisive goals from Brian Byrne in each half of the match. This victory served as a redemption for Laois, following a severe defeat at the same stage last year from Down. For Antrim, however, it marked another letdown after suffering loss from the eventual champions, Meath, in 2023.
The game was initially slow to commence. Antrim built their momentum slowly through initial scores from Colm McLarnon and Dominic McEnhill, prior to a somewhat tardy Laois kickstarting their scoring with help from Paul Kingston in the game’s seventh minute.
In the generally tentative first quarter, Antrim was able to re-establish their two-point lead through an impressive first-half score from Patrick McBride, to which Mark Barry responded for Laois. Coming out of the first quarter, Michael Byrne and Barry took turns in scoring for the teams as the match continued. McBride and Evan O’Carroll from Laois mirrored this by trading points in open play.
Despite McBride securing Antrim’s scoreboard command with a third score in the 25th minute, Andy McEntee’s squad was unable to put up any points for the final stretch of the first half, with their forward movement lacking some precision. Laois fully capitalised on this, securing another point via Barry and netting the first goal of the match in the 28th minute. Brian Byrne confidently shot the ball past Michael Byrne, following a fortunate rebound off a blocked shot from Kevin Swayne.
Concluding the half was an exquisite shot from James Kelly, giving Laois a well-earned 1-7 to 0-7 lead as they headed into the break. Yet, this momentum was short-lived as within five minutes after the second half kicked off, Antrim evened the score through back-to-back points from McBride, McLarnon, and McEnhill.
A golden opportunity for Laois to regain control was wasted in the 43rd minute, as Eoin Lowry’s shot hit the crossbar. This led to a follow-up counterstrike, with Antrim’s Patrick McAleer slipping behind to sneak the ball past Killian Roche.
Antrim notably didn’t manage to score for a consecutive nineteen minutes, an opportunity Laois grasped to regain a dominating position when Swayne managed a close range score. Roche entered the game to a decisive effect in keeping his team on the offensive. Despite facing a setback as O’Carroll was punished with a black card at the 65-minute mark, their victory was sealed as Byrne powered through for a final composed score three minutes later.
The LAOIS team comprised of players K Roche, B Dempsey, M Timmons, J Kelly, S Lacey, S Fingleton, B Byrne, D Larkin, C Heffernan, M Barry, E Lowry, K Swayne, P Kingston, E O’Carroll and N Dunne. R Murphy, E Buggie, K Lillis, S Fitzpatrick and C Burke were featured as substitutes.
Meanwhile, ANTRIM was represented by M Byrne, D Lynch, E Walsh, K Keenan, J McDonnell, J Finnegan, D McAleese, C Hynds, P McAleer, Ruairí McCann from Creggan and Aghagallon respectively, P McBride, C McLarnon, M Jordan and D McEnhill. Half-time and subsequent substitutes included: P Healy, E Hynds, C Hand, N Burns and R McQuillan.
The referee for the game was the Mayo-based Liam Devenney.