Dublin 1-20
Laois 2-15

Alan Hartnett reports from Parnell Park

DUBLIN BEGAN their Leinster senior hurling championship campaign with a narrow two-point victory over a battling Laois in Parnell Park.

Mattie Kenny’s charges were misfiring throughout and ended with 17 wides in total which allowed the Laois men to stay in the game.

That said, it looked like curtains for Laois in the 61st minute when Alex Considine came off the bench to score a goal with his first touch and two quick points put seven between them.

But Laois battled back with points from James Keyes and Cha Dwyer before Paddy Purcell won a free which Enda Rowland drove to the net in the first minute of injury time.

PJ Scully landed a free a minute later and then in the final attack, Fiachra C-Fennell won a free in almost the same place as Purcell just minutes before.

Rowland was summoned from the goals again but this time his effort was blocked out for a 65 which was subsequently cleared and Dublin hung on to win.

Laois led in the first half in the 10th minute when Mark Dowling got on the end of a loose ball to bat it into the net. Donal Burke, who finished with 13 points, led the Dublin resistance as they came back after that.

But PJ Scully converted some late frees to leave Laois 1-7 to 0-9 ahead at half-time.

Dublin hit 11 wides in the first half and that improved slightly in the second which meant that they had a big enough cushion to hold on when the late Laois onslaught came.

SCORERS – Laois: PJ Scully 0-8 (six frees), Enda Rowland 1-2 (all frees), Mark Dowling 1-0, James Keyes 0-2, Cha Dwyer, Ross King and Aidan Corby 0-1 each

Dublin: Donal Burke 0-13 (eight frees), Fergal Whitely 0-3, Alex Considine 1-0, Chris Crummy, James Madden, Paul Crummy and Ronan Hayes 0-1 each

LAOIS: Enda Rowland; Donnchadh Hartnett, Ciaran McEvoy, Sean Downey; Podge Delaney, Liam O’Connell, Ryan Mullaney; Jack Kelly, Fiachra C Fennell; Cha Dwyer, Paddy Purcell, James Keyes; Ross King, PJ Scully, Mark Dowling. Subs: Aidan Corby for King (48, inj), Pauric Dunne for Delaney (55, inj), Brandon McGinley for Dowling (63), Ciaran Byrne for Dwyer (70)

DUBLIN: Sean Brennan; John Bellew, Eoghan O’Donnell, Cian O’Callaghan; Donnacha Ryan, Paddy Smyth, James Madden; Conor Burke, Chris Crummy; Donal Burke, Davy Keogh, Danny Sutcliffe; Eamonn Dillon, Fergal Whitely, Ronan Hayes. Subs: Aidan Mellet for Keogh (blood 33, reversed 70), Alex Consideine for Dillon (60), Paul Crummy for Sutcliffe (68) Shane Barrett for Smyth (69), Aidan for Whitely (70)

Referee: Liam Gordon (Galway)

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