Fitzgerald hits brace to keep spirited Laois on rise
Laois 2-14 Dublin 1-14
Teddy McCarthy's hurling revival in Laois was given another boost as his new charges battled their way to a three-point victory over Dublin at O'Moore Park.
The game was played in treacherous conditions, as 12 hours of incessant rain had made underfoot conditions far from ideal.
Both teams took a while to settle and it was Laois who eventually took control of the game.
Willie Hyland hit some lovely points, both from frees and from play, before his sideline cut found Tommy Fitzgerald 14 yards out, and he made space for himself before firing low past Alan Nolan.
advantage
Another Hyland point helped Laois into a 1-8 to 0-6 advantage at the break.
Fitzgerald struck again just after the restart, this time having been set up by Mick McEvoy, as Laois opened up an impressive nine-point advantage.
Dublin duly responded with six unanswered points to get back into contention, but Laois eventually steadied the ship with scores from Hyland and Chris Murray.
Not even a late Alan McCrabbe goal could save Dublin, as the hosts defended resolutely in the final minutes to hold on for a hard-earned but well-deserved three-point victory.
They will now meet Galway in the semi-finals next weekend.
SCORERS -- Laois: W Hyland 0-8 (6f), T Fitzgerald 2-1, J Brophy 0-2, M McEvoy, W Dunphy, C Murray 0-1 each Dublin: S Stapleton 0-8 (7f), A McCrabbe 1-0, C McBride, R O'Dwyer 0-2 each, D O'Dwyer, J McCaffrey 0-1 each.
LAOIS -- D Hanlon; P Mullaney, D Maher, B Smith; J Fitzpatrick, M Whelan, C Dunne; J Walsh, B Dunne; J Brophy, M McEvoy, W Hyland; D O'Mahony, T Fitzgerald, W Dunphy. Subs: C Murray for O'Mahony (51), O Houlihan for McEvoy (69).
DUBLIN -- A Nolan; R Trainor, C O'Brien, J McCaffrey; R Walsh, J Boland, C Clinton; D Sutcliffe, S Stapleton; D O'Dwyer, C McCormack, S Ryan; C McBride, R O'Dwyer, E Dillon. Subs: McCrabbe for Ryan (h-t), P Carton for Dillon (51), P Ryan for McCormack (58).
Ref -- P O'Dwyer (Carlow)
- WALSH CUP SH
Irish Independent
