14 man Laois produce heroics to egde out Antrim to guarantee Division one safety

14 man Laois produced  their best hurling under the reign of Cheddar Plunkett to defy the odds and take a massive step towards Division 1 safety. Despite Jack Kelly being sent off in the opening half, Laois produced a spirited and skillful performance to edge out Antrim and get their first two points of the league.

It was a massive win and one that assures Laois of their place in Division one of the hurling league for 2023. Even if Antrim were to win their final game, Laois now have them on a head to head record.

LAOIS 1-20

ANTRIM 1-19

NATIONAL HURLING LEAGUE, DIVISION 1B

Antrim got off to a dream start playing into the Abbeyleix end with three points inside the opening three minutes setting them on their way. Michael Bradley hit the pick of those three scores as Laois felt the pressure early on.

Stephen Maher opened the Laois account on four minutes and a minute later the Laois men found the net after Paddy Purcell carved his way in from the stand side of the field and from a tight angle, fired a low drive to the back of the Antrim net to put Laois 1-1 to 0-3 in front.

Stephen Maher landed a '65' in the eighth minute but Antrim hit scores either side of that to make it a 1-2 to 0-5 game with 10 minutes on the clock.

The tight nature of the game continued with James Keyes firing over a super score before Antrim responded with a third free of the day from talisman Neil McManus.

Laois then stole a march with three points in a row, two from Cha Dwyer as they went 1-6 to 0-6 ahead in the 18th minute. Neil McManus cut the gap back to two points with a long range free before disaster struck for Laois.

After Jack Kelly had won a free in, Kelly reacted by swinging the hurl and although he didn't connect with Antrim's David Kearney, it was an attempted strike and he was given his marching orders on 23 minutes.

However, the Laois response was exceptional. They were fired up but also made their dominance count on the scoreboard. Stephen Maher landed his fourth while Enda Rowland drilled over a long range free as they led 1-8 to 0-7 with seven minutes left to half time.

Paddy Burke got one back for Antrim but a marvellous point from Paddy Purcell as the first half dipped into injury time coupled with a long range score from Willie Dunphy and a sensational score from James Keyes left Laois 1-11 to 0-8 up at the break having played with the breeze.

Antrim came out all guns blazing in the second half. With the wind at their back and a numerical advantage, they registered the opening three scores of the half within four minutes as David Kearney, Ciaran Clarke and McManus found the target.

Stephen Maher got the opening score of the second half for Laois on 43 minutes but it was the Antrim men who were turning the screw. Laois were now under serious pressure in their back line and with 47 minutes on the clock, the gap was down to 1-13 to 0-14 points with Neil McManus' free taking to the fore.

A massive long range score from Antrim full back Gerard Walsh was followed by Ciaran Clarke grabbing his second of the day and with 17 minutes to go, Laois only led by a point.

Cha Dwyer grabbed his third of the day to ease the pressure on Laois as the Antrim men, while creating chances, were proving wasteful in front of goals. Willie Dunphy caught a great ball and fired over while a PJ Scully sideline cut now had Laois 1-17 to 0-17 ahead with 10 minutes left in the game.

Antrim had plenty of fight left in them though and with 62 minutes on the clock, James McNaughton cut through the Laois defence, hand passed to Neil McManus and the Antrim sharpshooter sent a low drive past Enda Rowland to find the net and level the game.

Stephen Maher briefly put Laois back into the lead but they were all square again with four minutes to play after Conal Cunning split the posts.

Paddy Burke raided up from wing back for his second point to edge Anrtim in front on 68 minutes and despite Neil McManus missing two chances to put them further in front, Laois managed to level the game in the 73rd minute through a PJ Scully free from under the stand.

From the puckout, Laois intercepted and the fired up Cha Dwyer bisected the posts to give Laois the lead and the win.

LAOIS

Scorers: Stephen Maher 0-8 (0-4f, 0-2 '65'), Cha Dwyer 0-4, Paddy Purcell 1-1, Willie Dunphy, James Keyes and PJ Scully (0-1 S/L cut and 0-1f), Enda Rowland 0-1 free

Team: Enda Rowland; Diarmuid Conway, Podge Delaney, Sean Downey; Fiachra C Fennell, Liam O'Connell, Ryan Mullaney; James Keyes, Jack Kelly; Paddy Purcell, Cha Dwyer, Stephen Maher; Ross King, Willie Dunphy, Mark Dowling. Subs: PJ Scully for Mark Dowling (50), Aidan Corby for Ross King (56), Ciaran Comerford for Willie Dunphy (70+3)

ANTRIM

Scorers: Neil McManus 1-7 (0-7 frees), Ciaran Clarke, Paddy Burke, Conal Cunning and Michael Bradley 0-2 each, David Kearney, Gerard Walsh, Eoghan Campbell and Sean Elliot 0-1 each

Team: Ryan Elliot; David Kearney, Gerard Walsh, Stephen Rooney; Paddy Burke, Eoghan Campbell, Ryan McGarry; Daniel McKernan, Michael Bradley; Conal Cunning, Keelan Molloy, Domhnall Nugent; Sean Elliott, Neil McManus, Ciaran Clarke. Subs: James McNaughton for Domhnall Nugent (HT), Conor McCann for Sean Elliott (HT), Conor Johnston for David Kearney (59), Eoin O'Neill for Keelan Molloy (62), Ryan McCambridge for Michael Bradley (69), Stephen Bergin for Stephen Maher (70)

Referee: Shane Hynes (Galway)