ALLIANZ HL DIVISION 1B RELEGATION/PROMOTION PLAYOFF

**LAOIS 0-23 WESTMEATH 0-16 **

By Kevin Egan in Tullamore

Laois secured their first win of the 2016 Allianz League campaign at just the right time this afternoon when their superior second half performance helped them to edge past Westmeath in a tense, tactical battle at O’Connor Park in Tullamore.

Niall O’Brien and Charlie Dwyer were in excellent scoring form for their respective sides but while O’Brien’s influence diminished considerably after half time when Paddy Purcell dropped into a sweeping role in front of his full back line, Dwyer and his colleagues were able to pick off a series of excellent points from tricky positions and they gradually pulled away from their midland rivals.

The action was frenetic in the early stages as John Keenan awarded very few frees and the two sides played their part in a high-tempo phase of play, sharing six points in the first five minutes. O’Brien moved into the full forward line and his movement caused Laois plenty of problems, while his colleagues Eoin Price and Cormac Boyle chipped in with five points from play of their own.

While the Westmeath full back line held firm throughout most of this game – Michael Ryan’s men set a remarkable record by completing their 2016 league campaign without conceding a goal in seven starts – Laois worked away from the fringes, using their pace and astute passing to create openings from all angles of the attack.

Nine times the sides were level in the first half as they were essentially inseparable, though O’Brien’s last two scores gave Westmeath a narrow 0-12 to 0-11 interval lead.

A couple of missed frees were to cost them dearly early in the second half however as Laois found their form, bolstered in part by the introduction of Zane Keenan – though in the main, if was Dwyer who was leading the charge.

The Ballinakill player brought his tally to six points over the course of the afternoon and it was a case of death by a thousand cuts for Westmeath, who simply couldn’t find the space they needed to reply in kind.

Liam Varley had a half-chance for goal flash by the post early in the second half but that was as close as they came to securing their much needed goal, with Darren Maher dominant on the edge of the Laois square. Just two points were added by Westmeath in the first thirty minutes of the second half and, while Laois never went too far in front, they did enough to hold Westmeath at bay and retain their Division 1B status for another year at least.

Scorers for Laois: PJ Scully 0-10 (0-6f, 0-1 ’65), C Dwyer 0-6, W Dunphy 0-2, N Foyle 0-1, J Lennon 0-1, Z Keenan 0-1, M Kavanagh 0-1, E Rowland 0-1 (1f)

Scorers for Westmeath: N O’Brien 0-7, E Price 0-3, B Murtagh 0-3 (0-3f), C Boyle 0-1, L Varley 0-1 N Dowdall 0-1

Laois: E Rowland; D Palmer, D Maher, C Healy; L Bergin, M Whelan, R Mullaney; C Stapleton, P Purcell; C Dwyer, N Foyle, W Dunphy; J Lennon, S Maher, PJ Scully.

Subs: Z Keenan for Maher (HT), M Kavanagh for Dunphy (57), J Phelan for Palmer (66), E Fennelly for Foyle (69), B Reddin for Lennon (70+1)

Westmeath: P Maloney; S Power, T Doyle, T Gallagher; A Craig, A Clarke, A McGrath; C Boyle, G Greville; A Devine, N O’Brien, L Varley; N Dowdall, B Murtagh, E Price.

Subs: K Duncan for Doyle (28 – blood), R Greville for Dowdall (HT), D McNicholas for Varley (48), C Doyle for Boyle (57), Duncan for Power (66)

**Referee: **John Keenan (Wicklow)