Five newcomers in Laois side

Mick O'Dywer's Wicklow will come up against a raft of championship newcomers when they face Laois this Saturday evening.

Mick O'Dywer's Wicklow will come up against a raft of championship newcomers when they face Laois this Saturday evening.

Having utlilised the league campaign to assess his options, with varying degrees of success, Laois manager Liam Kearns has opted to hand debuts to five of his starting line-up for the clash at Dr Cullen Park.

Highly-rated teenager John O'Loughlin, impressive in the league despite the county's relegation from Division One, will start alongside the fit-again Padraig Clancy while up front Tom Kelly's younger brother Colm gets the nod at full-forward.

Goalkeeper Fergal Byron's departure from the intercounty scene affords Michael Nolan his opportunity between the sticks with Cahir Healy and Mark Timmons also starting in the full-back line.

READ MORE

Wicklow come into the clash having disposed of Kildare in the first round, recording their first championship win at Croke Park in the process, with former Laois boss O'Dywer now plotting the downfall of the O'Moore county.

And despite being heavily favoured to end Wicklow's involvement in Leinster, Kearns struck a cautionary note earlier in the week.

"We're at a severe disadvantage building a team with a lot of young fellas and I don't know how good or bad we are," he claimed.

"We were relegated from Division 1 of the NFL and we're playing against a team with a great championship win under their belts. It's all adding up to a major challenge and a huge obstacle for us."

Laois (SF v Wicklow): M Nolan; C Healy, M Timmons, J Higgins; T Kelly, D Rooney, P McMahon; P Clancy, J O'Loughlin; R Munnelly, B McCormack, B Sheehan; MJ Tierney, C Kelly, C Parkinson.