Allianz Hurling League Division 1 Group B

DUBLIN 4-18 LAOIS 2-17

By Brendan Graham at Parnell Park

A clinical display ensured Dublin defeated Laois.

Both sides suffered heavy opening round defeats last weekend with Laois suffering an 11 point loss to current Leinster Champions Wexford with 12 points the difference in the end between Dublin and Kilkenny.

It was Mattie Kenny’s side who got off to a blistering start scoring 1-4 without reply inside the opening 10 minutes.

A trio of scores from the reliable Oisin O’Rorke got Dublin up and running before turning provider for Eamonn Dillon. O'Rourke played a sublime cross field ball from the stand side straight to Dillon unmarked at the back of the box. Dillon took his time luring Enda Rowland closer before burying the ball into the back of the net.

A fine long range effort from Donal Burke put Dublin 1-4 to 0-0 in front before Laois even looked like settling into the game.

With a seven point lead after just 10 minutes and after a blistering start from Kenny’s side, Dublin began to relax a bit with Laois more than happy to capitalize with any chances that came their way.

Three scores without reply through Ciaran McEvoy, Aaron Dunphy and Ross King saw them reduce the deficit to four in a matter of minutes.

The momentum was quickly turning the way of Laois and Dublin received a further first half blow when goal scorer Eamonn Dillon limped of, but David Keogh was an able replacement.

The momentum continued to swing with the next two scores of the game coming for Laois. The score of the day coming from distance through corner forward Stephen Bergin before James Ryan clawed back the early deficit to just two points.

A flurry of scores without reply from Laois with 20 minutes on the clock remarkably saw them take the lead.

A fine long range effort from full forward Willie Dunphy either side of long range points from Jack Kelly and Paddy Purcell saw Laois take the lead for the first time in the game, 1-7 to 1-6.

Dublin responded well after conceding the goal with two more Oisin O’Rorke points edging them in front again before Mark Schutte’s afternoon was ended prematurely with injury. Schutte replaced by John Hetherton on the half hour mark.

A trademark Enda Rowland effort from distance leveled proceedings once more at 1-8 apiece before a purple patch for Dublin minutes before half time saw them lead by three at the break,1-11 to 1-8.

Dublin’s start the second half was a carbon copy of their start to the first with Rowland’s net being rattled twice in the space of the opening five minutes to give Kenny’s side some breathing space for the first time all afternoon.

The goals came from O’Rorke and Keogh with Rowland beaten twice in a matter of minutes from close range to put seven points between the sides for the second time during the game.

Rathdowney man Ross King’s accuracy from free’s kept Laois in contention.

With Dublin’s firepower in front of goal this afternoon, points just weren’t going to be enough especially with a seven point deficit to try and recover.

Dublin put the game to bed midway through the second half with their fourth goal of the afternoon courtesy of Hayes.

Dublin's Hayes plucked the sliotar out of the sky before turning on the spot and unleashing an unstoppable effort past Rowland.

Both sides exchanged points in the closing stages before Willie Dunphy got his second goal of the game, albeit a consolation for Laois.

Scorers for Dublin: Oisin O’Rorke 1-7 (6fs), David Keogh 1-2, Ronan Hayes 1-0, Eamonn Dillon 1-0, Sean Moran 0-3 (1f), John Hetherton 0-2, Donal Burke 0-2, Riain McBride 0-1, Jake Malone 0-1.

Scorers for Laois: Willie Dunphy 2-0, Ross King 0-6 (5fs), Ciaran McEvoy 0-2, Stephen Bergin 0-2, James Ryan 0-2, Aaron Dunphy 0-1, Paddy Purcell 0-1, Enda Rowland 0-1, Eoin Gaughan 0-1, Jack Kelly 0-1.

DUBLIN: Sean Brennan; Paddy Smyth, Eoghan O’Donnell, James Madden; Chris Crummey, Daire Gray, Cian O’Callaghan; Jake Malone, Rian McBride; Donal Burke, Danny Sutcliffe, Ronan Hayes; Mark Schutte, Oisin O’Rorke, Eamonn Dillon

LAOIS: Enda Rowland; Liam Senior, Ryan Mullaney, Donncha Hartnett; Jack Kelly, Padraig Delaney, Ciaran McEvoy; Fiachra C Fennell Diarmuid Conway; Aaron Dunphy, Paddy Purcell, James Ryan; Ross King, Willie Dunphy, Stephen Bergin.

REFEREE: David Hughes (Carlow).