Laois Senior Football Championship 2021

[Silkyskillssunshinee]

Senior round 2 draw...

Winners Section:

Portarlington v Courtwood
Ballyroan v St Joseph's
O'Dempseys v Rosenallis
Stradbally v Graiguecullen

Losers Section:

Arles-Killeen v Killeshin
The Heath v Emo
Portlaoise v Ballyfin
Clonaslee St Manmans v Ballylinan

Some interesting ties in there. Courtwood will have a right go at Port and shouldn't lack for confidence afte beating Portlaoise. Ballyroan and St Joseph's could both be two dark horses for the championship. You could argue Portlaoise got the hardest draw in the losers section in Ballyfin as well.

[portlaoisekid]

Portlaoise kid how is it dragging a name through the mud he wouldn’t play so what are you talking about I know his back after a lot of persuasion so it’s a reality ,,without him we are weakened simple as,,stop trying to make something of it

You said he wouldn't play and he is playing so your statement was untrue. I'm not making a big deal of it, it's the least of Portlaoise worries.

[town1980]

The most open championship ever wahoooo

[Laoiseabu]

Some interesting ties the next day alright . I watched all 16 teams play over the weekend so I’ve got a feel for most of the teams and what they have to offer .

Killeen vs Killeshin= should be an easy win for killeshin despite being 2nd best all game against Ballyroan yesterday. Killeen have completely run out of steam and age has caught up with them . Killeen certs for relegation in my opinion . Killeshin will have the legs on them next day out.

The Heath vs Emo = two poor sides who were well beaten in round one . Should be a very close encounter. Emo completely dependent on Darren Strong . Emo have seriously regressed since last year . The heath never looked like beating Graigue .

Portlaoise vs Ballyfin = Portlaoise have seriously regressed the last two years and it was evident again against Courtwood . Ballyfin put in a very brave display against Port and I thought they were going to sneak it all the end . Portlaoise should just about win it but if Ballyfin snook a win it wouldn’t be a big surprise to me .

Clonaslee vs Ballylinan = Clonaslee put in a solid first half display against Joseph’s today and at a few stages looked as if they would beat Joseph’s . They then completely ran out of steam in the second half . Ballylinan were poorish today but have Gary Walsh and Jamie Farrell to comeback . Ballylinan should have enough to beat Clonaslee although it might be closer than some expect.

Portarlington vs Courtwood = Port are the best team in the county and deserved champions from last year . Despite that and also being short 3 or 4 they were actually very very average at times against a brave Ballyfin . I’m sure Port will only get better as the championship progresses. Courtwood put in one of the displays of the weekend against Portlaoise and are a solid little club and attractive to watch. If they play as well as they did against Portlaoise and Port play as average as they did against Ballyfin then Courtwood could beat them . I expect port to up it though and have enough for a brave Courtwood team.

Ballyroan vs St Joseph’s = Ballyroan were the best team this weekend in my opinion. Pace , youth and quality on every line of the pitch and should of beaten killeshin by at least 10 points . Seem to be really improving now and their underage success is maybe starting to come through to senior . St Joseph’s won by 8 points against Clonaslee but in all fairness it was a lot Closer than that and Joseph’s were actually very very average . I expect Ballyroan to take them .

ODempseys vs Rosenallis = ODempseys had a well deserved win against Emo despite being dominated at midfield by Strong . Emo backs very very poor and ODempseys young pacy fowards made them pay . Hard to gauge where ODempseys really are at because Emo were so poor . Rosenallis had an impressive win against Ballylinan today .Rosenallis are a very improved side .  Plenty of pace and youth in the team and are very strong at midfield with John O Loughlin and Eoin Dunne who could possibly exploit ODempseys poor midfield . Very hard match to call could go either way .

Stradbally vs Graigucullen = Stradbally had the biggest winning margin this weekend against a diabolical Killeen outfit. Stradbally done what they had to do but like ODempseys it’s hard to gauge them Against poor opposition like Killeen . Graigue beat The heath and it was a very comfortable win for Graigue . Should be in the mix for a semi final spot but I’m not sure they can go all the way . I’d expect Graigue to just about have too much for Stradbally the next day .

[Batman!!!]

Disappointing to hear the live streaming of games has finished following yesterday’s games. I really think they should have seen out the 2021 championship anyways as no doubt people will be nervous still and might want to watch them at home. A poor PR move!

[town1980]

good reflection on all the games there laoisabu,,i got alot of my predictions wrong so im seeing clubs step up to the mark which makes for exciting games to come,who is over killeen ?

[Helix.]

good reflection on all the games there laoisabu,,i got alot of my predictions wrong so im seeing clubs step up to the mark which makes for exciting games to come,who is over killeen ?

Rory Stapleton from Annanough

[The PRO]

I'm giving myself 5 out of 7 on the weekend predictions! I kind of sat on the fence a bit on the Rosenallis v Ballylinan game!
Don't think anyone saw the Courtwood result happening and O'Dempseys were way better than I thought they would be against Emo.
I expect Port, O'Dempseys, Graigue and B Abbey to go direct to the quarter finals. And in the other 4 games I expect Portlaoise, Emo, Killeshin and Ballylinan to revive their season leaving Ballyfin, Killeen, The Heath and Clonaslee to fight the drop.

[High Fielder]

Disappointing to hear the live streaming of games has finished following yesterday’s games. I really think they should have seen out the 2021 championship anyways as no doubt people will be nervous still and might want to watch them at home. A poor PR move!

Probably hoping to get people back to O Moore Park. There were tickets available for the weekend in all matches with only 500 per game allowed. Says a lot really. The double and triple headers should be shelved and the games played at a venue halfway between the two. Better chance of getting some sort of crowd at individual games. Nobody would sit and watch 3 poor matches bar it's in the comfort of your own home.

[Chrimtain]

Disappointing to hear the live streaming of games has finished following yesterday’s games. I really think they should have seen out the 2021 championship anyways as no doubt people will be nervous still and might want to watch them at home. A poor PR move!

Probably hoping to get people back to O Moore Park. There were tickets available for the weekend in all matches with only 500 per game allowed. Says a lot really. The double and triple headers should be shelved and the games played at a venue halfway between the two. Better chance of getting some sort of crowd at individual games. Nobody would sit and watch 3 poor matches bar it's in the comfort of your own home.

Why don't they take the matches out of OMP and into club grounds around the county? Imagine the atmosphere that would be generated as opposed to the restrained atmosphere in OMP. It could have a huge effect on the matches themselves.

[High Fielder]

I agree. Nothing in this county is done for the sake of players or supporters though. Just the way it is

[Laoiseabu]

It’s a complete disaster if this live streaming of games is stopped now . The least they could do is see out the championship.
Covid is still around us and people who might not feel quite comfortable going back to games yet should have the luxury of watching games in their own home .
Elderly people or people not well who might not be fit to attend games should be able to watch games from their own homes .
People who are Abroad and not in the country should be able to watch their own clubs playing online in this day and age
Some of the poorer games which mightn’t be worth driving all the way to Portlaoise to watch should be watchable online from your own home .
With the evenings starting to close in and the winter around the corner it would be handy to watch some matches at home
The picture And sound quality is great and the commentary and player/team insight is top notch so I don’t see why they should do away with one of the more positive things that has kept us going through these uncertain times

[Chrimtain]

https://www.laoistoday.ie/2021/09/06/13-clubs-represented-on-team-of-the-week-following-round-1-sfc-and-ifc-action/

Good to see so many young players on Laois Today's team of the week.

[Silkyskillssunshinee]

Niall Corbet should be given a chance to play out the field for Laois next year. Very natural footballer and a good free taker as well which we need.

[Chrimtain]

Niall Corbet should be given a chance to play out the field for Laois next year. Very natural footballer and a good free taker as well which we need.

Another older player I would like to see getting an opportunity with Laois is Portarlington's Adam Ryan, if he is interested.