Brennan is pleased by Laois effort
NEW Laois manager Eddie Brennan kicked off his competitive tenure with a win yesterday as his charges got the better of Offaly in Birr.
Offaly had the better of the exchanges for long period but Laois were ahead at the end with an Aaron Bergin goal 12 minutes from time setting them into the driving seat to close out the game.
‘When you put it into context, it’s December and fitness levels aren’t where they need to be, but for me, the only thing I’m going to look for off the players is honesty of effort,’ said Brennan, a winner of eight All-Ireland hurling titles and four AllStars as part of the great Kilkenny team of the 2000s under Brian Cody.
‘That was a great battle, it was what both teams would want on a day like today and from experience I know that you learn a little bit from your team when you go on the road and we learned a little bit today.
‘At the end of the day it’s a Walsh Cup match and there’s bigger matches coming, the Joe McDonagh is what we’re all focused on.
‘But in the here and now, I’m pleased with how they went there today, that match was there to be won for both teams.
‘We really dug in, we went three points down and it looked as if Offaly were going to take over, but the little bit of grit and the little bit of heart in the guys was what got them the result”, explained Brennan.
Offaly led 1-8 to 0-8 at half time with a Sean Dolan goal standing out but slowly and surely, Laois came back into the game with goals from Stephen Maher and Dunphy giving them the edge in the second half.
Maher goaled three minutes after the restart to bolster Laois chances but it was that second goal from Dunphy that really put them in the driving seat.
Offaly manager Kevin Manager: Eddie Brennan Martin admitted he wouldn’t be losing any sleep over the result, and says his county recruitment is still ongoing. ‘I thought we were the better team for long periods. The last 10 minutes we faded out. Laois closed it out well. ‘(I’m) not really worried at all. We are way behind where we were this time last year as regards hurling and training. We are not going to get over excited. The panel is still open and we are still scouting.’ LAOIS: E Rowland; A Mortimer, M Whelan, D Hartnett; L Bergin (J Kelly 42), Ryan Mullaney, P Delaney; C Stapleton (E Lyons H/T), PJ Scully; A Dunphy, P Keating (E Gaughan 67), C Dwyer (C Comerford H/T); W Dunphy, S Maher, A Bergin (S Bergin 61).
Scorers: PJ Scully 0-6 (0-3f, 0-1 sideline, 0-1 ’65), S Maher 1-2 (0-2f), A Bergin 1-0, E Lyons 0-2, A Dunphy, W Dunphy, C Stapleton, R Mullaney, P Keating, C Comerford 0-1 each.
OFFALY: E Cahill; D Healy, B Conneely, P Rigney (T Spain 60); E Grogan, M Egan, C Taylor; D Nally, S Kinsella; Treacy (C Egan 63), S Dolan (E Callaghan 66), P Guinan; O Kelly, J Gorman, K Dunne (D Murray 45).
Scorers: S Dolan 1-1, A Treacy 0-3 0-2f, 0-1 ’65), S Kinsella, O Kelly (0-1, sideline), J Gorman, D Nally (0-1, sideline) 0-2 each, C Taylor, M Egan, E Cahill (f), D Murray (f) 0-1 each.
Referee: B Nea (Westmeath).