Laois v Down

[Caitlin]

Is the game available on-line ?
I predict a narrow Down win, notwithstanding that Laois were the best team we played last year.
I then predict we get our third Leinster team in a row and stuff Wexford at Navan.
The magical journey will end at the QF stage -hopefully we get to Croke as Ben and Dan deserve All-Star nominations.

[st pauls mcgrath]

agree that big dan deserves an all star nomination but thus far benny hasnt done enough to warrant one, but hopefully that changes as we make our charge to croker!

[The Real Laoislad]

agree that big dan deserves an all star nomination but thus far benny hasnt done enough to warrant one, but hopefully that changes as we make our charge to croker!

Should we even bother turning up on saturday I'd hate for poor little ol Laois to get in your way of your charge towards croker

[wobbller]

Is the game available on-line ?
I predict a narrow Down win, notwithstanding that Laois were the best team we played last year.
I then predict we get our third Leinster team in a row and stuff Wexford at Navan.
The magical journey will end at the QF stage -hopefully we get to Croke as Ben and Dan deserve All-Star nominations.

Caitlin,"you of little faith"

[Down Gael]

One step at a time lads. Getting to the Quarter Finals would be a hell of an achievement for this Down side, but Laois may have something to say about this on Saturday evening. As Caitlin says Laois were the best team we met last year, they didnt become a bad team overnight.

[Mourne Rover]

Laoislad, during this season, you were in division one and we were in division three. We were in the same league section in 2006 and 2007, and you hammered us, home and away, when we met. You have regularly played in big matches at Croke Park over recent years but we have not been involved in a championship game there since 1994. We hope that Down are improving, but I somehow think `poor little ol' Laois' might just turn up on Saturday night.

[Mike Sheehy]

Should we even bother turning up on saturday  I'd hate for poor little ol Laois to get in your way of your charge towards croker

They scored 5-19 in their last game laoislad. You'll just have to face reality, ye haven't a hope !

[Our Nail Loney]

Is the game available on-line ?
I predict a narrow Down win, notwithstanding that Laois were the best team we played last year.
I then predict we get our third Leinster team in a row and stuff Wexford at Navan.
The magical journey will end at the QF stage -hopefully we get to Croke as Ben and Dan deserve All-Star nominations.

Dan definitely

Benny has shoiwn glimpses but not warranting an all star nom just yet, maybe after saturday!

[off the laces]

Should we even bother turning up on saturday  I'd hate for poor little ol Laois to get in your way of your charge towards croker

They scored 5-19 in their last game laoislad. You'll just have to face reality, ye haven't a hope !

BUT we conceeded 2-10 so dont count your chickens

[Our Nail Loney]

Should we even bother turning up on saturday  I'd hate for poor little ol Laois to get in your way of your charge towards croker

They scored 5-19 in their last game laoislad. You'll just have to face reality, ye haven't a hope !

BUT we conceeded 2-10 so dont count your chickens

He's trying to be funny

[upthehoops]

Should we even bother turning up on saturday  I'd hate for poor little ol Laois to get in your way of your charge towards croker

They scored 5-19 in their last game laoislad. You'll just have to face reality, ye haven't a hope !

BUT we conceeded 2-10 so dont count your chickens

He's trying to be funny
yep. He's the free state version of the tosser from "The pass"

[western exile]

Some more from the papers on that Laois 17 year old sensation v. Longfort.........


Teenage star Kingston right at home in step-up to senior championship challenge

THE teenager that Laois manager Liam Kearns didn't want to play eventually turned out to be his side's match-winner at Pearse Park on Saturday night.

It's not that Kearns has anything against 17-year-old schoolboy Donie Kingston. But when it comes to hardcore championship football, perhaps young talent needs to be nurtured gently.

That was part of Kearns's thinking a few weeks ago, but there was no stopping the 6ft-plus gangling Barrowhouse clubman. He simply could not be kept off the team for his championship debut.

"To be honest, Donie has a huge amount of talent. He's physically very strong, mentally very strong," Kearns admitted afterwards.

"He's as good a 17-year-old as I've seen at this stage of his career. We thought we'd be taking him off the bench, but he was playing too well in challenge matches, so we were forced into playing him.

"We just couldn't keep him off the team. He's too good. Once we got the ball in to him he kept getting scores and Donie was probably the match-winner for us."

Corner forwards are traditionally bred small and pacy, but Kingston's height, style and composure are reminiscent of two members of the 'height for hire' versatile forward brigade of the '80s — Padraic Dunne of Offaly and John Caffrey, Pillar Caffrey's brother, both of whom won an All-Ireland with their respective counties.

Kingston confirmed that he's here to stay on the championship stage by scoring a vital goal in the 55th minute which turned the tide in favour of Laois when they were in danger of being overrun by rampant Longford.

It could have been a hat-trick as he later blasted in two goal efforts which rocketed over the bar for points — not the same thrill for the youngster but very important contributions.

[The Real Laoislad]

Kearns calls for improvement as injuries start to ease




Liam Kearns called on his side to improve on Saturday's poor showing or face expulsion from the All-Ireland Qualifiers as he admitted a repeat performance won't be good enough this weekend.

Reflecting on the game, the Kerry man admitted he was just happy to get out of Longford with a win, "The performance wasn't great, we're just relieved to win the match, that's the reality of it. We didn't look to be in good shape at half time, we didn't play well with the wind and we knew we'd have to perform better in the second half, and in fairness to the players they did."

"We were worried about the middle of the field, they were on top in the middle of the field for about fifteen minutes of the second half, and we made a lot changes and thankfully we got into it in the middle of the park. Once we did and we started to run at them they coughed up the scores at that stage."

The second half turnaround owed much to the intervention of Donie Kingston, who got his side out of jail with a well timed purple patch in the last twenty minutes. It's hard to see how Laois would have won if he'd not been on the pitch, and Kearns was full of praise for the teenager afterwards, "Donie Kingston, to be honest, has got a huge amount of talent."

"He's physically very strong, mentally very strong and for a 17 year old, he's as good as I've ever seen at this stage of his career. We thought we'd be taking him off the bench but he was just playing too well in challenge matches, we had to start him. His form was too good and he showed it in the second half, once we got it up to him, he got the scores."

On a more positive note, the injuries which have plagued Laois' season appear to be easing off, as Colm Kelly (St Josephs) returned in the second half and a few other players are returning to fitness, "Padraig Clancy is back after today, Joe Higgins will probably be back, he had a hamstring problem coming into today but he should be alright."

"Mark Timmons made it back on Tuesday night and I think Mark will probably be ok for the next day, and Colm Kelly only made it back this week as well. That's been our problem, our players' have been suffering badly with injuries and they haven't been getting a run at it, and that's telling."

As he looked ahead, Kearns admitted the next game would make or break Laois' season "We'll have one of the bigger teams, and either we're good enough or we're not, and if we're not then there's no point in going any further and if we are then we're only 70 minutes off Croke Park and we'll take that."

-Leinster Express

[The Real Laoislad]

Should we even bother turning up on saturday  I'd hate for poor little ol Laois to get in your way of your charge towards croker

They scored 5-19 in their last game laoislad. You'll just have to face reality, ye haven't a hope !

Aye but they scored it against the second worst team in Leinster..Well third worst if you count Kilkenny,Carlow being the other

[tyssam5]

Some more from the papers on that Laois 17 year old sensation v. Longfort.........


Teenage star Kingston right at home in step-up to senior championship challenge

THE teenager that Laois manager Liam Kearns didn't want to play eventually turned out to be his side's match-winner at Pearse Park on Saturday night.

It's not that Kearns has anything against 17-year-old schoolboy Donie Kingston. But when it comes to hardcore championship football, perhaps young talent needs to be nurtured gently.

That was part of Kearns's thinking a few weeks ago, but there was no stopping the 6ft-plus gangling Barrowhouse clubman. He simply could not be kept off the team for his championship debut.

"To be honest, Donie has a huge amount of talent. He's physically very strong, mentally very strong," Kearns admitted afterwards.

"He's as good a 17-year-old as I've seen at this stage of his career. We thought we'd be taking him off the bench, but he was playing too well in challenge matches, so we were forced into playing him.

"We just couldn't keep him off the team. He's too good. Once we got the ball in to him he kept getting scores and Donie was probably the match-winner for us."

Corner forwards are traditionally bred small and pacy, but Kingston's height, style and composure are reminiscent of two members of the 'height for hire' versatile forward brigade of the '80s — Padraic Dunne of Offaly and John Caffrey, Pillar Caffrey's brother, both of whom won an All-Ireland with their respective counties.

Kingston confirmed that he's here to stay on the championship stage by scoring a vital goal in the 55th minute which turned the tide in favour of Laois when they were in danger of being overrun by rampant Longford.

It could have been a hat-trick as he later blasted in two goal efforts which rocketed over the bar for points — not the same thrill for the youngster but very important contributions.

What he thinking giving this lad a senior debut? From Laois's past experiences surely he should be hidden in barn somewhere for a few year so the Aussie can't get to him? Whatever happened to the other teen sensation from a few years ago, Donie something as well?