Leinster Under 20 Football Championship Final

DUBLIN 4-18 LAOIS 0-17

By Conor McKenna at Bord Na Mona O’Connor Park, Tullamore.

Tom Grey’s Dublin side claimed the Leinster Under 20 Championship after a 13-point victory over Laois.

The underdogs will be disappointed with their performance on the day, as they defeated reigning All-Ireland champions Kildare, along with Westmeath and Meath, so they may have expected to be closer to Dublin.

Dublin have now claimed Leinster glory at Senior and Under 20 level and Ciaran Archer was magnificent on this occasion, scoring 3-8 over the course of the game.

Dublin scored the opening four points of the game to give themselves an early lead, with Karl Lynch Bissett, Sean Lambe, Ross McGarry and Ciaran Archer finding the target, before Diarmuid Whelan opened Laois’s account.

Michael Doran and Archer then traded scores, before Laois registered four successive points to give themselves the lead for the first time in the game.

Dublin responded with four points of their own however and had built up a 0-9 to 0-6 point lead, when Archer found the net for the games first goal in the 24th minute, after a poor kick-out from the Laois goalkeeper and they held a 1-11 to 0-8 point lead at the interval.

Dublin were completely dominant after the interval and he victors second goal came in the 42nd minute courtesy of Ciaran Archer, after Ross McGarry’s shot was saved and they had a third goal seven minutes later, when Kieran Kennedy’s beat Laois goalkeeper Matthew Byron.

Laois were then reduced to 14 men in the 52nd minute, when wing-back Colin Slevin was shown a straight red card by the referee and O’Loughlin’s side had only pride to play for at this juncture.

Dublin were then awarded a penalty when Peadar O’Cofaigh Byrne was fouled by Eoin Dunne and Archer sent the goalkeeper the wrong way from the resultant spot kick to complete his hat-trick.

Grey’s side finished the game with 14 men when O’Cofaigh Byrne was shown a black card in the sixth minute of stoppage time.

Dublin eased to a comfortable 13-point victory and will face Connacht champions Galway in the semi-final, while Laois’s season is over following this defeat.

*_Scorers for Dublin: *_Ciaran Archer 3-8 (7fs, 1-0 pen), James Doran 0-3, Kieran Kennedy 1-0, Brian O’Leary 0-2, Ross McGarry 0-2 (1f), Karl Lynch Bissett 0-1, Niall O’Leary 0-1, Sean Lambe 0-1.

Scorers for Laois: Diarmuid Whelan 0-8 (6f), Alan Kinsella 0-2, Mark Barry 0-2 (1f), Jack Owens 0-1, Eoin Dunne 0-1, Niall Dunne 0-1, Michael Doran 0-1, Ronan Coffey 0-1.

*_DUBLIN: *_David O’Hanlon; Darren Maher, Daire Newcome, Eoin O’Dea; Kieran Kennedy, Neil Matthews, Sean Lambe; Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne, Donal Ryan; Niall O’Leary, Karl Lynch Bissett, James Doran; Brian O’Leary, Ciaran Archer, Ross McGarry.

Subs: David Lacey for Donal Ryan (43), Harry Ladd for Brian O’Leary (55), Aaron Lynch for Darren Maher (55), Conor Kinsella for Eoin O’Dea (57) Mark Lavin for Niall O’Leary (60), Sean Foran for Kieran Kennedy (60).

LAOIS: Matthew Byron; Michael Dowling, Seamus Lacey, Alex Mohan; Colin Slevin, Sean O’Flynn, Dean Brophy; Robert Tyrell, Eoin Dunne; Mark Barry, Michael Doran, Ronan Coffey; Alan Kinsella, Dan McCormack, Diarmuid Whelan.

Subs: Jack Owens for Michael Doran (36), Niall Dunne for Dan McCormack (38), Jason Maher for Ronan Coffey (48), Kevin Byrne for Lacey (55), Ross Brennan for Brophy (58), Jack Lacey for Mohan (58).

REFEREE: Brendan Cawley (Kildare)