Dublin 1-11 Laois 1-11
A last-gasp point from substitute David Murphy saved Laois today as they fought back gamely to force a draw with Dublin in the All-Ireland minor football final.
Laois' cause looked ruined when Clontarf's Kevin Leahy put Dublin one up with a sweetly struck free four minutes from time but they persevered and duly found the equalising score they deserved.
Both sides started in a somewhat tense fashion but when the players did find their footing on the sun-kissed Croke Park pitch the fare proved both entertaining and intriguing.
Points were traded equally before Colm Kelly made the first significant breakthrough. With the scores tied at 0-3 apiece, the Laois corner forward, under pressure from the Dublin defence, bundled the ball over his opponents line for the opening goal.
That score rattled Dublin and their free flowing, imaginative play of the opening quarter quickly deserted them. Hesitancy and all too frequent misjudgment dogged their play before Mark Vaughan's goal three minutes from the break, dragged them back into it and cut Laois's lead to a point, and a halftime scoreline of 1-6 to 1-5.
Dublin turned that score on its head after the restart and opened up a three point lead within the first 10 minutes. However, Laois still had a say in matters and pulled level on 47 minutes when David Brennan knocked over his third point of the afternoon.
Again the sides swapped scores, captain Chris Bergin put Laois one ahead before Barry Kennedy restored parity. A tense finish ensued with Dublin looking set for victory when Leahy steered over his splendid free but up stepped Murphy to save Laois and ensure another day out.