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Wins for Dublin and Laois in Bord na Mona Walsh Cup

Oisín O'Rorke of Dublin in action against Adam Ennis of Westmeath during the 2020 Walsh Cup Round 2 match between Westmeath and Dublin at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar, Westmeath.

Oisín O'Rorke of Dublin in action against Adam Ennis of Westmeath during the 2020 Walsh Cup Round 2 match between Westmeath and Dublin at TEG Cusack Park in Mullingar, Westmeath.

Bord na Mona Walsh Cup

Dublin 1-22 Westmeath 0-17

Laois 3-19 Carlow 0-22

By Paul Keane

A couple of old favourites made a winning return to competitive action for Dublin who opened their Bord na Mona Walsh Cup campaign with a comfortable victory in Mullingar.

Donal Burke, who sat out the 2019 Championship due to exams and travel commitments, along with fellow forward Mark Schutte, who hadn't played competitively for Dublin since the 2016 Championship, both featured prominently in the eight-point Round 2 win.

Dublin's scheduled Round 1 game with Laois was postponed so this was their season opener and boss Mattie Kenny went with a largely experimental lineup.

Just four players who started their All-Ireland preliminary quarter-final loss to Laois lined out, opening the door for players like Aidan Mellett, who netted in the 15th minute, and point scorers David Keogh and Alex O'Neill to feature.

There was also a strong cameo from former Down player Lorcan McMullan who was rewarded for his club form with Kilmacud Crokes and scored 0-3 from midfield.

Westmeath led 0-5 to 0-2 after 10 minutes but 1-7 without reply from Dublin put them into a big lead and they never looked back.

Schutte, who won All-Ireland football medals in 2017 and 2018, returned to hurling for 2019 but didn't feature due to injuries and this was his first county game under Kenny.

He scored two points and played for the entire game while Na Fianna man Burke top scored with 0-8.

Dublin led 1-15 to 0-9 at half-time at TEG Cusack Park though Eoin Price was the game's standout player and struck four second-half points for the hosts, bringing his tally to 0-7 overall, all from play.

Sub Derek McNicholas also added three second-half scores for last season's Joe McDonagh Cup finalists who outscored Dublin by a point in the second-half.

Meanwhile, Ronan Murray, Aaron Bergin and Ross King all netted for Laois in their six-point win over Carlow.

Murray and Bergin both struck goals in the 14th minute as the 2019 All-Ireland quarter-finalists hit the interval with a 2-9 to 0-11 advantage.

The duo added points in the third quarter of the game as Laois stretched their lead and King's goal arrived in the 49th minute to set the seal on the victory.