Winners and losers low key

NEITHER dressing room felt that bullish. Laois had lost and Tipperary had been out scored, 1-3 to 0-1, in the closing minutes. Cause for reflection all around. Tipperary had earned a crack at Galway, the third time in eight years the counties have contested a League final, but were still a bit subdued by the scramble at the end.

Selector Ken Hogan was almost morose: "We conceded a free immediately after half time and, with the breeze, that was putting our backs under pressure. Kilkenny's a relatively tight pitch, not what you'd call a big field, so from that point of view, we were under pressure. I think our backs coped with that pressure and were defiant to the end, but I feel we've a lot of problems to sort out before we play a League final.

His final word was for the match's most influential personality. John Leahy's display at wing forward had defused no less an opponent than Niall Rigney. And that against the more than distracting backdrop of a trial pending in England after an incident in a nightclub some months ago.

"It was a great display from Johnny and great to see him back at his best," said Hogan. Leahy himself preferred to say nothing.

Colm Bonnar, a sturdy presence at centre back, expressed the general view and recalled with a shudder PJ Cuddy's last gasp chance for Laois.

"For the last seven minutes, we couldn't get the ball back out. With the final chance, they nearly got a goal. It looked like we might be pipped."

George Frend will have pleasant memories of the final against Galway two years ago - as he captained Tipperary to victory. Yesterday, he was switched to corner back in a late re shuffle.

"I was told in the hotel before. It's a long time since I played in the corner, last summer against Limerick in the championship," said Frend. "We were lucky at the finish, they camped in our half for the second half. Pat Fox's point was important, it kept them back but they never gave up."

In the Laois dressing room, Babs Keating looked back on the meeting with his former team. "We made an awful lot of simple mistakes that cost us scores. One fear I had this morning was that the hype created by Laois, you know a new team coming for the first time in a long time, might have got to the players and I honestly, believe that it did. Yet I'm somewhat relieved. I feel we've not enough of a panel yet to continue to play important games like a League final."