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In a fantastic second half of football, Laois edged out a struggling Longford at Glennon Brothers Pearse Park to set up a Leinster semi-final clash with Dublin next Sunday afternoon.
Laois can thank his goalkeeper Niall Corbet for two impressive saves early in the second half that denied Longford two goals.
Longford was five points up in the second half, but went 20 minutes without scoring when O’Moore County returned to the game and kicked seven unanswered points that proved to be the difference.
Longford played some very good football in the first quarter and opened a six-point lead in the 13th minute with Darren Gallagher as the linchpin on a number or scores.
It was Gallagher who set Daniel Mimnagh up for the game’s opening score. Liam Connerton added a second as Evan O’Carroll scored Laois’s starting point in the seventh minute.
A mark earned by Gallagher led to Longford’s goal in the sixth minute with Des Reynolds firing a powerful shot into the net. A free throw from Rian Brady extended Longford’s lead to six in 13 minutes.
Laois returned to the game two minutes later when Paul Kingston scored a goal.
Two free-kicks by Gary Walsh and a superb long-range point from Kingston cut Longford’s lead to one in the 26th minute.
Longford responded with points from Gallagher (free), two from Brady (one free) and a good point from Donie McElligott to lead by five points in the 33rd minute as it looked like they had taken control.
However, Laois got two final points to leave three between the sides at halftime.
In the first four minutes of the second half, Laois goalkeeper Niall Corbet made two excellent saves to deny Longford more goals.
He first denied Donie McElligott in the opening minute while denying Des Reynolds a second goal in the 40th minute.
Daniel Mimnagh lunged for the loose ball and fired it over the bar.
Reynolds stretched Longford’s lead back to five in the 44th minute, but that would be his last score in 20 minutes as Laois increased his game and turned a five-point deficit into a two-point lead.
A terrible kick saw Gary Walsh even things out at 54.
A good point from cornerback Trevor Collins put Laois ahead for the first time in the game in the 56th minute and a free-kick from Walsh put two between the sides.
Longford lost cornerback Paddy Fox in the 60th minute to a black card, but they tied in the 67th minute with a fine point from Joseph Hagan, but Laois rallied and points from Walsh (free) and substitute Sean O’Flynn.
Ross Munnelly received a black card near the end, but it mattered little.
Laois: Niall Corbet; Trevor Collins (0-01), Mark Timmons, Brian Byrne; Eoin Bugge, Seamus Lacey, Robert Pigott; Daniel O’Reilly, John O’Loughlin (0-01); Gareth Dillon, Paul Kingston (January 1), Eoin Lowry; Mark Barry (0-01), Evan O’Carroll (0-01), Gary Walsh (0-08,7s).
Substitutes: Michael Keogh (0-01) for Lowry (ht), S O’Flynn (0-01) for Lace (43), Ross Munnelly (0-01, m) for Barry (50), Patrick O’Sullivan for Bugge (68), Diarmuid Whelan for Walsh (70 + 5)
Longford: Paddy Collum; Paddy Fox, Andrew Farrell, Barry O’Farrell; Donie McElligott, Gary Rogers, Iarla O’Sullivan (0-01); Darren Gallagher (0-01, f), Kevin Diffley; Des Reynolds (1-01), Rian Brady (0-06,3f), Colm P Smyth; Daniel Mimnagh (0-02), Liam Connerton (0-01), Darragh Doherty.
Substitutes: Joseph Hagan for Rogers (52), Peter Lynn for Reynolds (61), Robbie Smyth for Doherty (64), Liam Hughes for O’Sullivan (70), Larry Moran for Smyth (70 + 5)
Referee: S Hurson (Tyrone)
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