Laois manager Peter Creedon had mixed feelings after his team's three-point win over Wicklow in Aughrim on Saturday evening.
On the one hand, he was content to register the win and progress in the championship. On the other hand, Laois's inability to close the game out in a composed fashion left him frustrated.
Laois led Wicklow by nine points for most of the last ten minutes and appeared to be coasting to a routine victory.
However, two late Wicklow goals scored in remarkably quick succession by substitute Paddy Byrne and corner forward Paul Cunningham made it a nervy finale for Laois and their supporters.
They ultimately survived to the final whistle without conceding any more scores, winning 2-16 to 3-10 in the finish.
"We should have ran out more comfortable winners than we actually did but we're in the pot anyway for the next day," Creedon told RTE Sport.
"It was a strange finish, wasn't it? I remember we played Wicklow when I was involved with Tipp about four or five years ago in the League and they got three goals in injury time to beat us," he recalled.
"In some respects it feels like a defeat because you haven't killed off a game that you were well in control of. But credit to Wicklow for that. They kept going.
"And I suppose sometimes you've got to decide that in the qualifiers it's just good to come away with a win.
"We should have been able to shut that game down without conceding those two goals. Now the first one was a good goal. Cunningham got it and swivelled away from two players and finished it well. And Graham (Brody) made a couple of good stops as well.
"But look that's the nature of it. We're happy with the win, I suppose. That's the bottom line."
