Written by Laois PR Team
After 2 wins from 2 in the league previously, the Laois Senior Hurlers seek a 3rd win in a row when they take on Carlow at home on Saturday February 24th at 6pm in Laois Hire O’Moore Park, for the Allianz Hurling League Division 2A Round 3 fixture.
Carlow are Laois are eachothers toughest opponents in Division 2A. Carlow are the 2023 Joe McDonagh Cup Winners, plus they currently sit at the top of the Division 2A table on points difference over Laois who sit in 2nd place. Like Laois, Carlow won their first 2 league games also and are seeking a 3rd win in a row on Saturday too.
With both Laois and Carlow the 2 most in form teams in the division thus far, alongside being neighbor’s and rival counties, this makes for a highly anticipated clash.
Tickets can be purchased both online and in person using the following options below and if you cannot attend the game, live match scores and updates will be provided via Twitter.
Tickets can be purchased online here: https://am.ticketmaster.com/gaa/24OM2502
Tickets can be purchased in person via selected participating SuperValu stores:
SuperValu Stradbally
Breslin’s SuperValu Rathdowney
McConville’s SuperValu Mountmellick
McLoughlin’s SuperValu Portarlington
Mulhall’s SuperValu Portlaoise
SuperValu Abbeyleix
SuperValu Parkside Portlaoise
Follow live match scores and updates on our official CLG Laois Twitter account: @CLGLaois
Manager Willie Maher has named the following side to face Carlow:
There are 2 changes to the starting 15 from the Kildare game: Ryan Mullaney and Gearoid Lynch start while Fiachra C Fennell and Cody Comerford are on the bench.
There are 4 changes on the bench: Lee Cleere, Willie Dunphy, John Lennon and Tomas Keyes come in for Noah Quinlan, Eric Killeen, Liam Senior and Padraic Lawlor.
The Laois team lines out as follows:
1. Enda Rowland (Abbeyleix St. Lazarians)
2. Ian Shanahan (Ballinakill)
3. Liam O’Connell (Rathdowney-Errill)
4. Diarmaid Conway (Clough-Ballacolla)
5. Gearoid Lynch (Ballinakill)
6. Padraig Delaney (The Harps)
7. Ryan Mullaney (Castletown)
8. Tom Cuddy (Camross)
9. Paddy Purcell (Rathdowney-Errill)
10. Martin Phelan (Castletown)
11. Picky Maher (Clough-Ballacolla)
12. David Dooley (Rosenallis)
13. Jer Quinlan (Borris in Ossory-Kilcotton)
14. Aaron Dunphy (Borris in Ossory-Kilcotton)
15. Mark Dowling (Camross)
Subs: 16. Cathal Dunne. 17. Padraic Dunne. 18. Fiachra C Fennell. 19. Lee Cleere. 20. Cody Comerford. 21. Aidan Corby. 22. Willie Dunphy. 23. Stephen Bergin. 24. John Lennon. 25. Tomas Keyes. 26. James Duggan.
Laois Round 2 Recap: Kildare vs Laois in Hawkfield on February 11th.
Final score:
Kildare: 1-20
Laois: 3-22
Laois Scorers: Picky Maher 0-7 (6 frees), James Duggan 1-1, Stephen Bergin and Mark Dowling 1-0 each, Enda Rowland (frees), Podge Delaney, Aaron Dunphy (one 65), Paddy Purcell, Jer Quinlan and Martin Phelan (0-2 each) Tom Cuddy and David Dooley (0-1 each).
Kildare were a tough opponent in the first half and Laois went into half time 1 point down. However in the 2nd half, Laois came out firing and produced a top form and excellent performance to defeat Kildare by 8 points in the end.
There were many standout performers for Laois: Firstly, a vital save from goalkeeper Enda Rowland (0-2 from frees also) kept Laois in the game. A very energetic David Dooley (0-1 from play) took back possession for Laois in crucial stages of the game. The all important match winning goals in the 2nd half were scored from play, with fantastic finishes by the trio of James Duggan (1-1), Stephen Bergin and Mark Dowling (1-0 each).
Carlow: Their 2024 league journey so far.
Round 1: Kerry vs Carlow in Austin Stack Park on February 4th.
Final score:
Kerry: 0-19
Carlow: 3-22
Round 2: Carlow vs Meath in Dr Cullen Park, Carlow on February 11th.
Final score:
Carlow: 3-22
Meath: 1-16
After their great achievement of being crowned 2023 Joe McDonagh Cup Winners, Carlow continue to be in top form this 2024 league season also. With 2 dominating wins over Kerry and Meath.
The standout players for Carlow are: Martin Kavanagh, Chris Nolan, Conor Kehoe and John Michael Nolan.
No.8 Conor Kehoe has so far displayed a dual role in both midfield and attack with a total scoring contribution of 1-6 from play so far (0-4 vs Kerry and 1-2 vs Meath). In attack, the following Carlow forwards have racked up huge amounts of scores: Martin Kavanagh (1-9 vs Kerry and 1-6 vs Meath), Chris Nolan (1-6 vs Kerry and 0-6 vs Meath) plus John Michael Nolan (0-1 vs Kerry and 1-2 vs Meath) have produced brilliant performances that contributed to putting Carlow top of the table ahead of Saturday.
Previous meeting of Laois vs Carlow: Joe McDonagh Cup Round 3 on April 22nd 2023 in Dr Cullen Park, Carlow.
Final score:
Carlow: 1-22
Laois: 1-22
The last time the sides met, it made for a very exciting and thrilling encounter with neutrals hoping this Saturday’s game will be equally as entertaining.
The sides could not be divided, sharing the points, courtesy of a last minute Carlow penalty struck perfectly by the reliably on target, Mark Kavanagh. (who had also scored a large total of 1-13 in the game as Carlow’s key man that day).
Despite the disappointment for Laois conceding a last minute penalty and narrowly missing out on an important cup win, the big positives for Laois that day were the excellent performances of both Picky Maher (0-10) and Stephen Bergin (1-1), who were exceptional and made sure Laois left Carlow that day avoiding defeat and with a point, as they at least deserved for the incredible work rate they put in.
By Laois PRO Sat 24th Feb
