Laois v Offaly
Leinster U-20 Hurling Championship Quarter Final in Tullamore at 7pm
The Laois U-20 hurlers continue their Leinster hurling campaign against old foes Offaly in O’Connor Park in Tullamore at 7pm this evening.
Laois will look to emulate the success of their senior team against their neighbouring county from a couple weeks ago but will have to be on their ‘A’ game against a formidable opponent in the Leinster quarter final.
Laois’s group is a story of a goal heavy defeat in blustery conditions against Kilkenny before bouncing back against Wexford in a game that failed to separate the two sides.
This earned them a Round 2 outing against Tier 2 qualifiers Kildare.
Despite Kildare’s good form leading into the clash, the gap between the divisions was apparent in the 2-19 to 0-16 victory.
Offaly on the other hand began their championship with a marginal 1-18 to 2-14 win over Dublin and continued their good form by earning a point in a meeting with Galway that finished 0-15 to 1-12.
Both sides will be heading into the game with confidence and belief that they deserve a spot in the Leinster semi final.
These teams are no strangers to each other. There are many familiar names on both teams from the Minor Leinster final of 2022.
Jer Quinlan, Ben Deegan, Jack Breen and Brochan O’Reilly all featured in that game, among other names throughout the panel such as Rory Kelly, Kevin Byrne and Bobby Murphy.
Offaly also boast the likes of Adam Screeney, Leigh Kavanagh and James Mahon who lifted the trophy on that May afternoon two years ago.
They are set to be without the talented Dan Ravenhill who is due to miss out through injury.
Offaly’s last outing was just over a month ago which is a long break between fixtures.
Whether this will mean Offaly are well rested or lack match sharpness is yet to be decided.
If there is a player who isn’t in need of more hurling it is Adam Screeney.
The Kilcormac man was ever present in Offally’s Joe McDonagh campaign where he scored 8 points off the bench against Laois.
Likewise, Laois have senior hurlers to boast as well. Tom Cuddy and Jer Quinlan featured in that aforementioned Joe McDonagh clash and both put in commendable performances.
As well as this it was Laois who came out on top that day, hopefully a good omen.
The repeat of the minor 2022 final is certain to be an entertaining contest, no matter which way the pendulum swings.
However in this instance only one team will make it to the semi final or beyond.
Laois have named an unchanged starting 15 from the side that defeated Kildare.
LAOIS: Brochan O’Reilly (Portlaoise); Diarmuid Dooley (Rosenallis), Cathal Cuddy (Camross), Ciaran Flynn (The Harps); Cormac Hogan (Clough-Ballacolla), Eoghan Cuddy (Camross), Tom Cuddy (Camross); Cody Comerford (The Harps), Conor Fitzpatrick (Park Ratheniska-Timahoe); Ben Deegan (Camross), Jer Quinlan (Borris-Kilcotton), Tommy Brennan (Clough-Ballacola); Jack Breen (Castletown), Colin Byrne (Abbeyleix), Cormac Byrne (Abbeyleix).
Subs: Peter Rafter (Clough-Ballacolla), Joseph Pearson (Clough-Ballacolla), Aaron Phelan (Castletown), Evan Cassin (Clough-Ballacolla), James Cuddy (Camross), Rory Dunne (The Harps), Jimmy Hyland (Rosenallis), Mark Downey (The Harps), Justin Duggan (The Harps)
