Honours even as Laois and Galway impress

The fortunes of Laois football continue to rise. At Ballinasloe yesterday the spirit which the county has revelled in at minor level for the past two or three years was reflected in the performance of the seniors, and although they did not quite manage to take the two away points, they certainly revealed a refreshing attitude to the way the game should be played.

That said, Galway will feel that they should have won. Indeed if scoring chances had been taken in the middle section of the first half, and again towards the end, they certainly would have. On a cold but sunny afternoon, there could have been no complaints about the fare the teams provided. Laois seemed in control throughout the first half and led 1-5 to 0-4 at the break. They had dominated the middle of the field and their wing backs, Denis Lalor and Derek Conroy, were making frequent raids into Galway territory. Several shots had fallen short of the target, however, and five wides did not help, although the team were outwitting Galway in most areas of the field.

Galway certainly had fences to mend at this stage and it was not surprising that midfielders Michael Cloherty and Sean O Domhnaill, were replaced by Kevin Walsh and Padraig Boyce very early in the second period. This had the effect of putting the Galway boat back on an even keel.

At the same time, Laois seemed to run out of steam to some extent, and Galway plundered sufficient scores to cut down the lead and eventually draw level.

Laois's goal had come from a penalty in the 19th minute, when Hugh Emerson was pulled down as he tried to make the most of a rebound off the post. Ian Fitzgerald's penalty kick was well out of Galway goalkeeper Pat Comer's reach.

Sadly for Galway, Padraig Joyce was not as accurate with his penalty attempt, in the 20th minute of the second half, when Paul Clancy was fouled. Joyce, who had been a most impressive performer for Galway up until then, was well wide of the target when a goal would have given his side the lead.

By that stage the revamped Galway midfield had managed to counter the early superiority of Laois's David Sweeney and Noel Garvan, and Galway launched attack after attack on the opposing goal as the Laois defence wilted.

Although Eamonn Delaney at full back and his goalkeeper, Tony McMahon, performed heroics at times, Galway continued to surge forward, and by this stage seemed to have grabbed the initiative.

Then, in a breakaway at the other end, a shot by Ian Fitzgerald was cleared off the Galway line by Gary Fahy and, almost immediately, Galway levelled the scores amid considerable excitement when Padraig Joyce sent his 40-yard free over the bar with the 60 minutes just up.

With the match in injury time, Padraig Joyce set up a match-winning chance for Declan Meehan, but he missed from a relatively easy position, while under no significant pressure.

Notable early in the match were Laois midfielders Sweeney and Garvan; while the Laois defence was also well served by Eamonn Delaney, Denis Lalor, John Bolton and Derek Conroy. In the attack, Declan Rooney, Damien Delaney, Ian Fitzgerald and Hugh Emerson all contributed to a splendid team effort.

Once they got the measure of the game in the second half, the entire Galway defence as Meehan with Ray Silke and Kevin Fallon and Sean og de Paor steadied the situation for Galway impressed, and although Padraig Joyce will regret his missed penalty, he must be given a full measure of credit for scoring the vital equalising free at the end under severe pressure.