14 man Kilkenny too strong for Laois in Leinster minor opener

Despite playing over half the game with only 14 players, the Kilkenny Minor Hurlers were much too good for Laois in Round 1 of the Leinster Championship on Saturday afternoon.

The game was a repeat of last year’s provincial semi-final that saw the O’Moore County shock the Cats but there was no repeat here as Niall Bergin’s men controlled proceedings for the most part.

Even a straight red card to James Stephens clubman Sean Bergin in the 23rd minute couldn’t stop the winners with goals from Ed Lauhoff, Mikey Stynes and Brian Moore putting the seal on the victory.

Corner forward Conor Doyle was also hugely influential in scoring 10 points over the course of the 60 plus minutes while Laois were restricted to just two points from play by a defiant Kilkenny defence.

Laois did start the better with Eoghan Murphy and Justin Duggan knocking over a free each.

Kilkenny responded with efforts from Michael Ahern and Conor Doyle and the game remained competitive throughout the opening quarter.

Doyle was proving very elusive in the Cats full forward line and when the Windgap man scored three points on the bounce, Kilkenny led 0-5 to 0-3.

The game’s opening goal then arrived when a Doyle sideline dropped around the Laois square and after Ed Lauhoff gathered and had an attempt blocked, full forward Mikey Stynes was there to scoop the ball into the net.

The Noresiders looked relatively comfortable at that stage but they were soon rocked by the red card of Sean Bergin which seemed to catch everybody in the ground off guard.

Despite the discretion, Kilkenny soon resumed their flow with points from Doyle, Ed Lauhoff and Greg Kelly.

Laois replied via frees from Eoghan Murphy and Justin Duggan as well as a Mark Downey score from play but Kilkenny still led 1-10 to 0-7 at the break.

The opening stages of the second half were dominated by Kilkenny where a Ed McDermott score was followed by a well taken goal from former Irish underage soccer international Brian Moore that probably ended the game as a contest.

Laois remained in contention when top scorer Eoghan Murphy netted a penalty after Kilkenny goalkeeper Billy O’Sullivan brought down Justin Duggan bit it only served to put a bit of respectability on the scoreboard.

Kilkenny ended the game in style with points from Doyle, Greg Kelly and sub Eoghan Cahill arriving before Ed Lauhoff got the Cats third goal in stoppage time that saw them run out 11 point winners.

Teams and Scorers

Kilkenny- Conor Doyle (0-10, five frees and one '65'), Ed Lauhoff (1-1), Mikey Stynes, Brian Moore (1-0 each), Greg Kelly (0-3), Bill McDermott, Michael Ahern, Eoghan Cahill (0-1 each)

Laois- Eoghan Murphy (1-7, six frees), Justin Duggan (0-4, four frees), Mark Downey (0-1)

Kilkenny- Billy O’Sullivan (James Stephens); Conor Brophy (Erins Own), Evan Murphy (Dicksboro), David Barcoe (Clara); Sean Bergin (James Stephens), Rory Garrett (Fenians), Jerry Henderson (Fenians); Darragh Vereker (Glenmore), Michael Ahern (Emeralds); Bill McDermott (James Stephens), Ed Lauhoff (James Stephens), Greg Kelly (O’Loughlin Gaels); Conor Doyle (Windgap), Mikey Stynes (Dicksboro), Brian Moore (Dicksboro).

Subs- Eoghan Cahill (Graigue Ballycallan) for Stynes 44 mins, Robbie Doherty (Mooncoin) for McDermott 51 mins, Noah Manogue (James Stephens) for Doyle 57 mins, Andrew Phelan (Piltown) for Henderson 60 mins.

Laois- Rick Bannon; Oran Gorman, Lorcan Dunne, Conor Mortimer; Cian Hill, Ryan Peters, Evan Cassin; Eli Quinn, Mark Downey; Caelum O’Brien, Eoghan Murphy, Ruaidhri Kavanagh; Cormac Byrne, Jordan Downey, Justin Duggan.

Subs- Jimmy Norton for h-t, Shane Connolly for Downey 43 mins, Eoin Bracken for O’Brien 48 mins, Ray Goode for Hill 54 mins, Kyron Cuddy for Quinn 54 mins.

Referee- Gearoid McGrath (Wexford)