Joe McDonagh Cup Final

LAOIS 3-26 WESTMEATH 1-21

By Paul Keane at Croke Park

Laois will compete in the 2020 Leinster senior hurling championship after becoming just the second county to win the Joe McDonagh Cup, doing so in some style at Croke Park.

Goals from Ross King, Aaron Dunphy and Stephen Bergin did the trick for Eddie Brennan's side who will be back in action next weekend as All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finalists.

Laois will take on Dublin, the third placed team in the Leinster championship, while Westmeath will meet Cork, the third placed team in Munster. Both Laois and Westmeath will have home advantage for those games.

Laois ran Dublin close in the Allianz League and will fancy their chances of pulling off an upset as their season goes from strength to strength under Kilkenny great Brennan in 2019.

Mark Kavanagh was also outstanding for the O'Moore County and struck 0-12 as they piled on the misery for Westmeath late on and ran out 11-point winners.

It was agony again for Westmeath who have now lost back to back McDonagh Cup finals though they had the game's top scorer in Killian Doyle who hit 1-11 overall.

Laois came into the contest as slight favourites and jumped onto the front foot immediately with a fourth minute goal.

Former captain King grabbed it when he seized possession and fired to the net after a costly slip in the Westmeath defence.

The strike separated the sides after nine minutes when Laois led 1-3 to 0-0 following three points in a row from Kavanagh.

The Laois centre-forward helped himself to six points in total in the first-half, five of which came from play as he split the posts from a range of angles.

Doyle, who came into the contest with 2-50 for Westmeath from four games, opened the scoring for them with a converted sideline cut.

The free-taker finished the half with a whopping 1-7 that included an expertly taken 22nd minute goal.

He was fed by captain Aonghus Clarke who'd gained possession straight from a puck-out and Doyle did the rest with some slick stick-work and a bullet finish.

It was a timely goal because Laois had opened up a five-point lead after their own second goal from Aaron Dunphy who hit 1-4 overall on the day.

Laois hit the interval with a commanding 2-11 to 1-10 lead and while Westmeath twice got their arrears down to just two points on two occasions in the second-half, that was as good as it got for them.

Laois opened up with some thrilling hurling in that second period and Bergin was only on the field as a temporary substitute when he netted their third goal in the 47th minute.

There were two separate bursts of four Laois points without response from Westmeath as Brennan's side went up through the gears and put the result beyond doubt.

Subs Eanna Lyons and Neil Foyle were also on the mark for Laois with 0-5 between them in the closing 10 minutes as the Westmeath challenge petered out.

Scorers for Laois: Mark Kavanagh 0-12 (5fs, 2 65s), Aaron Dunphy 1-4, Ross King 1-0, Stephen Bergin 1-0, Eanna Lyons 0-3, Charles Dwyer 0-2, John Lennon 0-2, Neil Foyle 0-2, Paddy Purcell 0-1.

Scorers for Westmeath: Killian Doyle 1-11 (6fs, 1 sideline), Ciaran Doyle 0-2, Aonghus Clarke 0-2, Cormac Boyle 0-1, Allan Devine 0-1, Derek McNicholas 0-1, Joey Boyle 0-1, Shane Clavin 0-1, Eoin Price 0-1.

LAOIS: Enda Rowland; Lee Cleere, Matthew Whelan, Donnchadh Hartnett; Jack Kelly, Ryan Mullaney, Padraig Delaney; John Lennon, Paddy Purcell; Aaron Dunphy, Mark Kavanagh, Stephen Maher; Willie Dunphy, Charles Dwyer, Ross King.

Subs: Stephen Bergin for Kavanagh (44-48), Bergin for King (48), Eanna Lyons for Maher (56), Neil Foyle for Dwyer (58), Joe Phelan for Kelly (71).

WESTMEATH: Conor Lynch; Darragh Egerton, Tommy Doyle, Gary Greville; Liam Varley, Aonghus Clarke, Paul Greville; Shane Clavin, John Gilligan; Joey Boyle, Killian Doyle, Cormac Boyle; Robbie Greville, Darragh Clinton, Allan Devine.

Subs: Eoin Price for Gilligan (33), Derek McNicholas for Clinton (h/t), Ciaran Doyle for C Boyle (54), Darragh O'Reilly for Devine (66), Aaron Craig for G Greville (70).

Referee: Colum Cunning (Antrim).