1. Ominous signs for Laois ahead of Dublin clash
In his post-match interviews, Wicklow boss Johnny Magee made the point that if his team can perform so well against Laois, and rack up 18 points in the process, then what are Dublin capable of doing to the O’Moore County on 4 June?
With just minutes remaining at O’Moore Park last night, Wicklow trailed by just two points before Donie Kingston kicked a free and then a goal to put the hosts out of sight.
Laois were in control for long stages but unable to truly kill off the Garden County until the end.
In so many aspects of their play, Laois were sloppy and below-par but the hope and expectation is that they will improve to give Dublin a game at Nowlan Park.
Two years ago, Laois met Dublin the provincial quarter-finals and suffered an 11-point defeat. This time, it could be double that unless there’s a drastic upturn in fortunes.
But Dublin will surely take time to adapt to their new surroundings as they face a first championship fixture outside of Croke Park since 2006, and Laois will hope to be competitive at least.
2. The Nowlan Park factor
Which leads us nicely to the venue chosen for the 4 June clash between Dublin and Laois.
There was much wailing and gnashing of teeth in Laois when Leinster Council chiefs decided that the reward for the winners of last night’s Wicklow tie was a clash with Dublin at the Kilkenny venue.
Laois argued vehemently behind the scenes that the quarter-final should have been fixed for O’Moore Park – and with some justification.
One former Laois selector called for a boycott of Nowlan Park if the O’Moore County were involved and it will be interesting to see how Mick Lillis and his players move forward from here.
In many ways, Lillis was hamstrung in what he could say about the situation because of the fact that Laois had to win their first round fixture before thoughts turned to Dublin, and any mention of playing the Sky Blues in Portlaoise would have given Wicklow added motivation.
But with that hurdle removed last night, Lillis let loose and described the decision to take the Dublin game to Nowlan Park as a “disgrace” and a “travesty.”
3. Kingston’s class a bright spot for Laois
Donie Kingston’s a terrific footballer and his 1-6 haul for Laois was crucial last night.
Powerful and aggressive, Kingston is a player capable of winning his own ball and converting scores at critical times.
But Laois need more from the other forwards around him if they’re to trouble Dublin.
Between them, the other five starting forwards contributed 1-8 between them, not a bad haul but just 1-4 of that came from play.
Of course, all teams have their marquee forwards but where Laois have Kingston, Dublin can boast Connolly, Brogan, Rock, Flynn, Mannion and Kilkenny, with the likes of Kevin McManamon and Cormac Costello coming off the bench to lend a hand.
The gulf in class is stark from in an attacking sense and with Dublin also fielding a pretty mean defence, it’s difficult to see how Laois can compete.
4. Wicklow need more games to improve
Would the result have been different if Wicklow had home advantage against Laois last night?
It’s a moot point but one worth considering. It should be pointed out that two years ago, Wicklow hosted Laois and lost by seven points and while the same margin existed between the sides in this latest meeting, a late Laois flourish added gloss to the final scoreline.
In 2014, Wicklow bounced back to beat Offaly in the qualifiers before losing by just two points to Sligo.
Last year, Wicklow were away from home in their opening game against Meath and just like last night, produced a creditable display when losing with 13 players by just four points.
Admittedly, Wicklow were disappointing when they lost by ten points to Armagh in the qualifiers but again, they had to travel away from home, as was the case last night.
Perhaps it’s time to look at a system whereby the so-called ‘weaker’ sides have home advantage for their championship games until well into the competition, thereby giving them a better chance to compete and progress.
More games would certainly benefit Wicklow, too, as they would have learned plenty about themselves in Portlaoise.
But as things stand, they’re facing another early exit, rendering months and months of hard work effectively meaningless.
5. Where to from here for Carlow?
It’s been another desperately disappointing season for Carlow.
They won three games but barely raised a gallop in Division 4 of the Allianz League and failed to challenge for promotion.
Last night, a quick glance through their 26-man squad revealed that just one player from county champions Palatine was listed, and that was sub-goalkeeper Craig Kearney.
The reasons for that, we’re not quite sure of but it in the interests of balance, it should also be noted that just Hughie Gahan featured from last year’s county final runners-up Old Leighlin.
The bigger point is that surely Carlow’s strongest club teams from last year should be providing a far greater amount of players to the county set-up?
In a wider sense, this latest defeat was just the latest in a long line of disappointing championship setbacks for Carlow.
Since beating Louth in 2011, they’ve won just one of 12 championship outings since then, and that was a qualifier win over fellow minnows Waterford two years ago.
6. Louth have the potential to trouble neighbours Meath
Any championship clash between Louth and Meath will conjure up memories of that infamous Leinster final climax in 2010, when Joe Sheridan scored one of the most disputed goals in the history of Gaelic Games to clinch a controversial victory for the Royals.
They met again in 2011, when Meath won by three clear goals in a qualifier, but their paths haven’t crossed since then in championship fare.
As reigning Division 4 League champions, and with a morale-boosting victory over Carlow under their belts, Louth can approach their 12 June clash with Meath at Parnell Park in good spirits and with plenty of optimism.
Meath, after all, are coming in cold and without a competitive fixture since their final Division 2 group game in early April, a six-point victory over Laois.
Louth have a nice balance to their side and a scoring touch from deep-lying positions.
Wing-backs Derek Maguire and Anthony Williams scored 1-2 against Carlow and midfield pair James Califf and James Stewart collected 0-6, Califf claiming 0-5 of that, including two from play.
But it’s up top where Louth have the ability to really hurt Meath, with Declan Byrne, Jim McEneaney, Conor Grimes and Ryan Burns boasting a dangerous mixture of craft, work-rate, running power and a scoring touch.
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