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Cathal Dunne played the match against Kerry, when Laois were already through to the semi-final. Always tough being understudy to a 'legend'...

Where was Ross King yesterday he was flying it in previous matches?

Really? I didn't think he was that good against Down, and deservedly got taken off.

?? Ross wasn't even on the panel against Down I think. He scored 1-07 against Kerry, 1-04 from play.

I'm talking about the semi-final against Down in O'Moore Park a couple of weeks ago. He started at centre-forward. Taken off at half-time, or shortly after it. I remember wondering why he wasn't taking the frees instead of Aaron Dunphy.

Where was Ross King yesterday he was flying it in previous matches?

Really? I didn't think he was that good against Down, and deservedly got taken off.

Exactly - what was wrong with Carlow?! However, good performance from our lads. A complete reversal of the form from the first day, from both teams!

Thought he was standing in the Euros? I'd like to be wrong, but I'd say his chances are small.

19 wides. 10 frees sent wide.

Clare went up the gears when needed but in general the standard of hurling was poor over the weekend and whilst it may not have looked like it the Down lads say there was quite a lot of sand on the pitch in Portlaoise which probably contributed to the bunching, inability to rise the ball first time etc etc which ensured the game didn't really have any pace to it.

There was an awful lot of sand on the pitch. Seemingly, a drainage pipe broke underneath, and with all the rain, it had to be fixed - so the pitch was dug up to do it last week.

I very a couple of questions now. One, is ISIS a more reliable news source than Russia in your opinion?

Russia is a terrorist state, what is ISIS? Israel? America, US, UK, etc.

Exactly. And they all lie.

Good luck to the Down hurlers in Portlaoise today. 70 minutes away from Division One hurling next year.

Good to see Paul Sheehan named to start. Great that he's stuck around for another year. Strong looking bench, too, which is great to see.

Down went toe to toe with Laois when they met in the first round of the league, until Laois won it right at the end. If Down can produce a similar performance, there's every chance they come out on top today.

One area I think Down have struggled in this year is they have simply been giving away too many frees. Hopefully we see minimal frees, and 15 men staying on the field.

Pressure will very much be on Laois today. Laois will feel like they need to be in Division One, and don't think many people will be giving Down much of a chance. Could give Down the opportunity to play a good brand of free flowing hurling, and sure then, who knows?

Down have really come a long way in the past couple years. Couldn't get out of Division 2B for ten years, and now they're playing their second Divison 2A promotion deciders in 3 years. It's been great to see. Onwards and upwards, hopefully.


Also, good luck to Glenn today with the opening of their new facilities and their match against Slaughtneil. Always good to see good facilities in the county, and Glenn look like a club with great potential.

Glenn had a bit of a hurling team back years and years ago. Who knows, maybe the Slaughtneil lads will bring the hurls and reignite a bit of interest in stick-ball about the place 

In the end, Laois won handily enough - and, indeed, wasted quite a few chances, too. Down had a good start, and were leading for, I dunno, the first ten or fifteen minutes, but Laois hit their stride and were clear at half-time. A goal early in the second half killed it off. Down seemed to get tired, and could barely score with the wind. In fact, they scored more against it in the first half. There was one great point from one of the wing backs late on, who stormed up the field, and put it over from about 50 out. Other than that, Laois seemed crisper and cuter in their hurling, and a little bit fitter.
One thing I did notice - not all the Down team are from Ards anymore. Has the game spread a bit in the county?

What or who are these NGOs that a lot of people are complaining about?
The GAA?
FAI?
Credit Unions?
??

Yeah, right. Acting stupid, are we?

Good performance no great fear of going to carlow next week for the final slot of lads done well today I taught Martin Phelan was outstanding got 2 scores and made 5 or 6 more.

You're right, great performance from Phelan. He's an awkward hurler, but works like a dog and wins ball he's not entitled to. As the young lad said, he could have the ball, lose it for nothing, and then win it again from 10 lads around him!

Yes, some good hurling, all right. However, even though they scored 1-24, they surely left another 3-20 behind them. Need to be a lot more clinical - and need a proper free-taker, too. Surprised King didn't step up to them, but his first game back was only middling. Impressed by Quinlan, Dooley, and Mossy Keyes, who was fouled plenty. Liam O'Connell caught some good ball, and Purcell was much better. However, Down got very tired in the second half, and were no match for our lads in terms of fitness, or touch. The Carlow game will be a good barometer of how much they've actually improved.

They must have inside info.!

The hurlers are a far more gentleman-y lot!

Yeah, it's a bit messy bringing in head-to-head results for this. One question though, how did we get Portlaoise as the semi-final venue? Surely we should have to travel to Down considering they played us in Portlaoise already, or failing that a neutral venue for the Semi?

I suppose it's a reward for finishing second, just like Carlow's home venue for the final is their reward for finishing top.

Hmmm. Carlow lost to Kildare last night, after - does that mean a good win over Kerry could put Laois straight into the final, or does it come down to head-to-head still?