Clare 0-14 Laois 1-10
Clare’s glorious weekend took on a new dimension when Colm Collins’ footballers sent Laois crashing out of the 2016 championship race.
Clare had previously only won four qualifier games since the backdoor system was introduced and had lost all three games they played against Laois, but the Bannermen came with a storming finish to seal a famous win.
They held Laois scoreless for the entire final quarter and picked off the scores to secure a historic win.
Laois led by 1-07 to 0-07 at the end of a good opening half in difficult wet conditions, with wing-back Stephen Attride hitting the key score when he found the net five minutes from the break.
Conor Meredith, Colm Begley and Donie Kingston were involved in the build-up and the wing-back from Killeshin supplied a fine finish.
There was little to separate the sides prior to that and the sides were level three times during that opening half.
Laois started brightly with early scores from John O’Loughlin and Donie Kingston settling them, but Clare responded with Eoin Cleary and Cathal O’Connor finding the target.
The wet conditions and crowded defences made scores hard to find but the crowd of 2,106 had plenty to shout about as Meredith, David Conway and Darren Strong pointed for Laois, only for the Banner men to haul them back.
Cleary, Jamie Malone and Keelan Sexton, a Leaving Cert student this summer, kicked excellent points for Clare to tie the sides seven minutes from the interval.
Then came Attride’s goal but the Clare response was good and Malone responded with his third point of the half for Clare.
But O’Loughlin’s second point left them 1-07 to 0-07 to the good at the interval.
Cleary pointed a free for Clare two minutes after the restart but O’Loughlin responded with his third of the game for Laois.
The rain got heavier in the third quarter and Clare introduced dual star Podge Collins, who played in the hurling qualifier win over Limerick on Saturday night, in a bid to find a way through the packed Laois defence.
Points from Paul Cahillane and Kingston extended Laois’ lead to 1-10 to 0-09 after 51 minutes before Clare captain Gary Brennan pointed a free to leave a goal between them with 15 minutes left.
Laois, remarkably, did not score again and it was Clare who seized the moment.
Another Cleary effort cut the gap to two and then four minutes from time Shane Hickey pointed before substitute Sean Malone landed the equaliser a minute later.
Extra-time was looming but yet another sub, Shane McGrath, hit the winner from the left and while Laois had chances to level, they were unable to find the range and prevent a first ever qualifier defeat to Clare.
Clare: J Hayes; S Hickey (0-01), K Hartnett, M McMahon; S Collins, G Kelly, C O’Dea; G Brennan (0-01, 0-01f), C O’Connor (0-01); J Malone (0-03), K Sexton (0-01), P Lillis; E Cleary (0-04, 0-04f), D Tubridy (0-01, 0-1f), P Burke.
Subs: D Ryan for Burke (35), P Collins for Tubridy (48), E Coughlan for Sexton (55), S McGrath (0-01) for O’Connor (56), S Malone (0-01) for Lillis (65), Tubridy for J Malone (74, black card).
Laois: G Brody; D O’Connor, M Timmons, G Hanrahan; S Attride (1-00), K Lillis, D Strong (0-01); B Quigley, J O’Loughlin (0-03); K Meaney, C Begley, P Cahillane (0-01, 0-01f); C Meredith (0-01), D Kingston (0-03, 0-02f), D Conway (0-01).
Subs: A Farrell for Strong (42, black card), M Campion for Begley (45), G Walsh for Conway (49), R Munnelly for Cahillane (51), J Farrell for Meaney (62).
Referee: Marty Duffy (Sligo).
