Tailteann Cup Round 3 Preview: Laois v Offaly

Tailteann Cup Round 3 Preview: Laois v Offaly

Written by Laois PR Team

The Laois Senior Footballers face Offaly in Round 3 of the Tailteann Cup on Saturday May 31st at 6pm in Cedral St.Conleths Park, Newbridge.

Tickets can be purchased online here:

https://am.ticketmaster.com/gaa/buy/25SC3105

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 Justin McNulty has named the following side to face Offaly:

Permutations: A win/draw for Laois will guarantee them at least 3rd place in the group (preliminary quarter final). Even in defeat, they should still qualify to the preliminary quarter-finals based on their superior score difference at the moment.

Recent Laois Stats (vs Wicklow): Courtesy of Eoin Culliton (@LeixGaelicStats on Twitter)

Paddy O’Sullivan made his 50th League & Championship appearance.

Killian Roche scored his 50th overall point for Laois senior footballers.

Laois led twice in the 1st half v Wicklow. Laois were level three times and behind three times = eight moves. It’s the 32nd time since 1923 that we have had so many moves in the first half. The most ever was 15: Wexford 2014 and Kildare 2015.

Laois were ahead at HT in a fourth championship match in a row for the first time since 2006.

Round 2 Recap: 

Laois: 0-16

Wicklow: 0-21

Laois scorers: Damon Larkin 0-6 (two two-pointers), Ronan Coffey 0-3 (two frees), Killian Roche 0-2 (two-point free), Niall Corbet, Shaun Fitzpatrick, Cathal Lee, Paddy O’Sullivan and Conor Heffernan 0-1 each.

Laois subs: Michael Doran for Fitzpatrick (HT), Padraig Kirwan for McEvoy (45), Jonah Kelly for Lee (55), Sean O’Neill for Corbet (65)

Standout Players (Laois)

In attack: Seamus Lacey impressed with excellent attacking link-up play and intelligent positional movement, setting up both a fine point from play for Cathal Lee in the 1st half and a Niall Corbett point from play in the 2nd half.

In midfield: Damon Larkin was constantly dominant throughout, showing great strength on the ball, winning crucial Wicklow kickouts and directly set up 2 of his teammates scores from winning these kickouts (Shaun Fitzpatrick and Conor Heffernan points from play).

Damon Larkin’s accurate kicking throughout the game was outstanding, contributing a man-of-the-match performance with a total of 0-6, including two 2-pointers from play. Which was very nearly also 3 two pointers for Larkin too, after his powerful 2 point effort struck the post and awarded as a single point.

Defensively, Trevor Collins stood out with two superb tackles and key interceptions on Kevin Quinn, turning over possession and launching Laois attacks. He also made a vital last-ditch tackle to deny Wicklow a certain goal.

Offaly:

Round 1 Result:

Offaly: 2-13

Wicklow: 0-11

Round 2 Result:

Offaly: 1-18

Waterford: 1-13

Standout Players:

Key up front is Jack Bryant , with a total score of 1-6 from play (one 2 pointer) from the previous 2 group games in the 2025 Tailteann Cup vs Wicklow and Waterford.

Jordan Hayes displays great distribution and field coverage making him a vital asset in midfield.

Cormac Egan is strong defensively at wing back, but has also shown versatility by playing further up the field in attack when needed. His strength is his adaptability from defence to attack as a result of his great pace to carry the ball.

Previous Championship Meeting: Laois vs Offaly

All Ireland Senior Football Championship Qualifiers May 17th 2019

Laois: 0-20

Offaly: 0-15