Down 2-11 Laois 1-13

Martin Clarke scored 1-06 as a one-point win over Laois saw promoted side Down finished their NFL Division 2 campaign unbeaten.

The Mourne men led by 1-05 to 0-07 at half-time in Newry, with a John Clarke point splitting the sides and Donal Kingston (1-07) keeping Laois in touch.

A John Clarke goal edged Down 2-07 to 0-08 clear at the end of the third quarter, and although Kingston netted for Laois late on, final-bound Down held onto their lead.

This game may have been a dead rubber affair, with a league final berth already secured for Down and Laois having retained their Division 2 status for next year, but there was no lack of bite and intensity.

Down were eager for scores in the opening stages and had broken into a two-point lead by the tenth minute, with Ronan Murtagh and Martin Clarke on target.

A brace of Kingston frees levelled the tie at the end of the opening quarter, but Down edged three points clear in the 20th minute.

After Mark Timmons had fouled John Clarke, his brother Martin stepped up to take the resulting penalty. Goalkeeper Marty Dowling pulled off a fine save, but the younger Clarke was in for the rebound to give his side a 1-02 to 0-02 lead.

Aided by a strong performance in the midfield sector, Laois pressed hard.

Emo clubmen Paul Lalor and Darren Strong both failed to add to Laois' tally, yet points from Colm Begley, Kingston and Kevin Meaney levelled the tie at 1-02 to 0-05 in the 29th minute.

Down rallied as they outscored the visitors by three points to two in the closing five minutes to ensure a 1-05 to 0-07 interval scoreline.

Laois manager Sean Dempsey introduced Paul Cahillane and Ross Munnelly on the restart, and these changes certainly reaped dividends for the O'Moore men.

Former Celtic and Ireland underage player Cahillane claimed the opening score of the second half, inside 30 seconds, to bring the sides level for the fourth time.

Scores were suddenly at a premium, with just two points landed over the next 16-and-a-half minutes.

Both points arrived from place-kicks from Martin Clarke, as Down moved 1-07 to 0-08 ahead by the 43rd minute.

Laois worked hard to reel the hosts back in, but John Clarke's goal as the game entered the final quarter kept Down in front.

The midlanders rallied thanks to the good work of Munnelly, Kingston and substitute Chris Bergin to make it a three-point game with 14 minutes remaining.

Peter O'Leary had an excellent chance of equalising a minute later, but his powerful goal-bound shot was well saved by Down goalkeeper Brendan McVeigh.

Laois got their goal though, with Kingston netting in the 68th minute.

Points from defender Cahir Healy and Munnelly left just a point between the sides, a minute-and-a-half into injury-time.

But Down saw out the win - their sixth in seven league matches - to add to their momentum heading in the Division 2 final against Armagh in two weeks' time.