Laois Senior Football Championship 2021

[Robbo]

Winner's Section:

Portarlington v Courtwood
I think Port are an awful match for Courtwood. They have similar strengths in a lot of ways but Port just have more of them. Port by 8.
Ballyroan Abbey v St Joseph's
Interesting game this. BA can be great to watch but will they relish the type of game Joseph's will play; I'm not so sure.
Heart says Ballyroan; head says Joe's.
I'll go with Ballyroan by 3.
O'Dempseys v Rosenallis
I really liked the look of O'Dempseys the last day. They should match the athleticism of Rosenallis and I think they've a better spread of scoring threats.
O'Ds by 6.
Stradbally v Graiguecullen
This is the game I'm most looking forward to. I like a lot about Stradbally; I think they're building something really worthwhile but Graigue might be a little further down the line.
This will be very close and I wouldn't be surprised to see this going all the way to penalties.
I'll go with Graigue to come through.

Losers Section:

The Heath vs Emo
I'd be very worried about The Heath. I think Emo will have knives sharpened for this one and I can't see where The Heath will get their scores. Emo by 10.
Arles-Killeen v Killeshin
I've heard Donie Kingston may be a doubt for this one. If he plays I think Killeen may keep it close but I still think Killeshin will prevail by 3/4. If he doesn't play, it could be any score.
Clonaslee St Manmans v Ballylinan
I've a sneaky feeling Clonaslee could win this. They're a well-rounded team and I just feel they might be able to hold Ballylinan's key players.
Portlaoise v Ballyfin
My heart is ruling my head but I think Ballyfin might cause a shock here. Port was a brutal first round draw and this is just as hard but I'd contend we were the better team for substantial periods of the last game, albeit Port weren't at their best.
Portlaoise should win but I'll take Ballyfin to edge it by 2.

[Silkyskillssunshinee]

Ballylinan, Portlaoise, Killeshin, The Heath, Port, Ballyroan Abbey, O'Dempseys and Graiguecullen all to win at the weekend.

I think Killeen could be in real bother and I'd tip them as favourites for relegation.

[Robbo]

I had a feeling Clonaslee would win last night and they could easily have another big performance in them if the get a decent draw.
They have a solid team with athleticism in the right places. And Corbett is just a joy to watch.

I'm sticking to my prediction for a massive upset tonight.

[The PRO]

I had a feeling Clonaslee would win last night and they could easily have another big performance in them if the get a decent draw.
They have a solid team with athleticism in the right places. And Corbett is just a joy to watch.

I'm sticking to my prediction for a massive upset tonight.

Good call last night Robbo. I had thought Walsh coming back would lead Ballylinan to a win but he was clearly injured (and still kicked 6 or 7 points). Clonaslee looked decent. Big, mobile and if they can be a bit more clinical they could well get to a quarter final. They could be playing the likes of Courtwood, Rosenallis or maybe Stradbally in Round 3 and would fancy their chances.

[Smellyball]

Port by 11, Ballyroan AET, Dempseys by 3, graig by 8

Portlaoise by 2, emo by 1, killeshin by 5, Clonaslee by 2

[Robbo]

Well done to Portlaoise. Came good at the end; can't help but feel that they got out of jail.

Feels a little harsh that Ballyfin are out after two good performances but that's sport.

[Silkyskillssunshinee]

Shocking bad luck for Ballyfin. They draw Port in the opening round and will feel they could have beat them as well. Then they get Portlaoise the next day and would have definitely beaten that if they had 15 men on the pitch. They should have plenty to spare over whoever they get in the relegation semi-final, but it might be hard to raise morale after two heartbreaking defeats like that.

Portlaoise will be over the moon just to still be in championship as was seen in the celebrations at the final whistle. They are no doubt in decline though and the players don't seem all that happy with the management team at times. Which ever team plays them in round 3 should have no fear of them like Ballyfin and Courtwood showed already.

[town1980]

Celebrations is right I'll be honest we are a joke at the minute no words to describe what I'm looking at

[Smellyball]

Level of refereeing in this championship is scandelous.

To what are you referring?

[town1980]

Absolutely shocking I seen the video on Laois today that supporter in the brown should be banned and charged with assault ,,if it was clonaslee the county would go nuts the book has to be thrown at both clubs

[High Fielder]

Embarrassing. Not a wise decision from LT to put the video up either. Another sad day for Laois GAA.

[Laoiseabu]

I was at the game . I think we are blowing up the row a bit . It was mostly handbags. I've seen bigger hits in mass

[High Fielder]

The video will be circulated and bring this to a whole other level. The actions of Mr Brown there (we'll call him that for now) would certainly be of interest to the Gardai, or at least should be. Big difference between a ban and a criminal matter. I don't think the video should have been posted, but it's their choice and they seemed happy to do so

[BallyroanAbu]

Not near comparable with previous stuff, handbags at best.  Would it get into top 5, place is going soft.  Should not happen but lots of emotion.

[High Fielder]

Very obviously a man has run from the crowd and thrown a flurry of punches. That's a little more than handbags. There will of course be attempts to defuse the situation, but it's serious and embarrassing. Those of us who were there know what we saw and also know the perpetrators. Now it's time for the CB to take action. Handbags me arse.