The Laois senior footballers made a winning start to the Tailteann Cup as they defeated Wicklow 1-23 to 0-19 in O'Moore Park on Sunday afternoon.
A really strong first half performance laid the foundation for the victory as Laois won by seven points in the end.
Laois played with the wind in the first half and could have been out of sight by the 13th minute. Ronan Coffey had a chance cleared off the line by Gavin Fogarty and they squandered two three-on-two situations before Daragh Galvin got in one on one but Mark Jackson denied him.
Wicklow actually took the lead via Mark Kenny but Laois responded via Rob Tyrrell and then went ahead thanks to Evan O'Carroll and keeper Matthew Byron.
O'Carroll and Eoin Darcy then swapped points in the 15th minute which left Laois 0-05 to 0-03 ahead.
Wicklow failed to score for the next 18 minutes and Laois used that period to add 1-08 to their tally. The goal they deserved arrived in the 18th minute when Ciaran Burke did extremely well to turnover the ball deep in the Laois half.
That set up a counter attack involving Rob Tyrrell, Aaron McEvoy, Pa Kirwan and Daragh Galvin before O'Carroll smashed a left footed shot into the roof of the net.
Pa Kirwan scored twice while O'Carroll and Coffey both kicked two-pointers to ease Laois into a ten point lead after 28 minutes.
Wicklow sub Joe Prendergast finally ended the Laois onslaught with a point before keeper Mark Jackson slotted an excellent two point free into the wind.
But Laois keeper Byron replicated this as Laois took a 1-15 to 0-06 lead into half time.
Laois were against the wind now but actually outscored Wicklow in the opening ten minutes of the new half.
Kirwan, Cian Nolan, Galvin and Kevin Swayne all scored to extend Laois's advantage. But Wicklow, aided by the wind, eventually started to make in-roads into the Laois lead and enjoyed a purple patch.
Jackson kicked two two point frees as Wicklow scored eight in a row. Laois had a goal chance in there too as Jackson saved from Galvin but down the other end, Byron proved just as good as he denied Liam O'Neill.
By the time Laois scored again in the 54th minute, an O'Carroll score after Paul Kingston had been denied by Jackson, the score was 1-20 to 0-14.
Eoin Murtagh and Dean Healy slotted two-pointers for Wicklow but Laois kept ticking away. Swayne pointed and Kingston landed two frees as they held on for the win.
They now join the winner's section for Round 2 with the draw scheduled for Monday afternoon.
Laois: Matthew Byron (0-04, 2tpf); Jack Lacey, Trevor Collins, Alex Mohan; Aaron McEvoy, Kevin Swayne (0-02), Paddy O'Sullivan; Rob Tyrrell (0-01), Conor Heffernan; Ciaran Burke, Ronan Coffey (0-03, 1tp), Pa Kirwan (0-03); Cian Nolan (0-01), Evan O'Carroll (1-06, 1tpf), Daragh Galvin (0-01). Subs: Simon Fingleton for Lacey (14), Paul Kingston (0-02 frees) for Galvin (48), Rioghan Murphy for McEvoy (52), Brian Byrne for Nolan (54), Niall Corbet for Kirwan (61)
Wicklow: Mark Jackson (0-06, 3tpf); Tom Moran, Conall O Gallchobhair, Gavin Fogarty; Jacques McCall, Matt Nolan, Jonathan Carlin; Dean Healy (0-02, 1tp), Cathal Baker; Jack Hardy, Padraig O'Toole, Christopher O'Brien; Oisin McGraynor (0-03, 2f), Mark Kenny (0-02), Eoin Darcy (0-03, 3f). Subs: Joe Prendergast (0-01) for O Gallchobhair (29), Liam O'Neill for Hardy and Conor Fee for Baker (both ht), Eoin Murtagh (0-02, 1tp) for McCall (47), Paidi Kavanagh for Kenny (65).
Referee: Barry Tiernan (Dublin)
