Eddie Brennan gets off to winning start in charge of Laois while Westmeath footballers also prevail

Westmeath footballers defeated Carlow while the Laois hurlers overcame Offaly.

Offaly 1-16 Laois 2-16

THE LAOIS HURLERS got off to a winning start under new boss Eddie Brennan with a win over Offaly in the Walsh Cup on Sunday.

The sides traded scores throughout the opening phases, with Laois holding a slender one-point lead after 23 minutes.

Offaly then edged into the lead with a goal just before the half-hour mark but Laois struck back in the second half with a goal of their own from Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher.

Bord Na Mona Walsh Cup (2nd half, 72min) Laois 2-16 (22) Offaly 1-16 (19)
All over Great win
— Laois GAA (@CLGLaois) December 9, 2018

Offaly pushed on once more to go three points clear but a second Laois goal, scored by Aaron Bergin, leveled up proceedings.

Laois claimed the advantage from there and went on to record a solid win.

Carlow 0-8 Westmeath 0-12

Meanwhile, the Westmeath footballers also got off the mark with a win, defeating Carlow in their opening O’Byrne Cup game to make a positive start to life under new manager Jack Cooney.

The home side were four points up inside the opening 15 minutes and they maintained their advantage for the remainder of the tie, leading by the same margin at the half-time break.

Bord na Mona O'Byrne Cup Round 1

70 mins

Westmeath in control here looking to be a winning start for Jack Cooney@westmeath_gaa 0:12@Carlow_GAA 0:08#westmeathgaa #iarmhiabu #obyrnecup #bordnamona
— westmeathgaaofficial (@westmeath_gaa) December 9, 2018

Carlow cut the gap to two points after the restart but Westmeath stretched their advantage again with Luke Loughlin hitting three points after his introduction on the way to a four-point win.

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