Meath secure win over Laois

Meath defeated Laois 0-11 to 0-8 in the O'Byrne Shield tonight to book a final spot against Dublin on Saturday. Meath advanced to an early season showdown with Dublin on Saturday evening in Parnell Park as they edged out Laois in an entertaining O'Byrne Shield semi-final at Pairc Tailteann tonight (Tuesday). Both sides looked edgy at times and there were occasions when neither appeared to want the prospect of facing Dublin. However, Meath were the better side and fully deserved their win with Paddy Gilsenan, Shane O'Rourke, Cormac McGuinness and Conor Gillespie doing well. Meath looked nervous in the early stages and lacked cohesion. Their ambition wasn't helped by over-fussy referee Niall Ward who set the tone for the evening by blowing for three fouls in the opening 45 seconds. Laois benefited from one of the Westmeath official's early whistles when Daithi Carroll converted a free after James Macken had fouled him. Slack defending allowed Ross Munnelly double the visitor's advantage in the sixth minute. However, Meath dominated the remainder, although Laois didn't help their cause by kicking eight wides in an opening period that saw them supported by the wind blowing into the Navan O'Mahonys end. Goalkeeper-turned-forward Paddy O'Rourke proved his worth with a fine score to open Meath's account and two minutes later St Patrick's Niall Mooney contributed the point of the evening with a superb effort from tight to the right-hand sideline. From the subsequent poor kick-out Meath won possession and fed Paddy O'Rourke who gave Meath the lead for the first time, 0-3 to 0-2. A Farrell free, after Skryne's Ian Davis was fouled, was followed by a 12 minute lull period of poor football and little action. Davis re-ignited the contest with a score before Munnelly's second from a free ended Laois' 20-minute barren spell. Davis made it 0-6 to 0-3 in the 30th minute and that was the way it stayed until half-time as both sides squandered some decent chances. McEnaney rang the changes at half-time with Paddy O'Rourke moving to goals as Brendan Murphy was replaced by Shane O'Rourke. Gary O'Brien and Kevin Reilly also emerged in place of Cormac McGill and the stretched Macken. Just as it was in the first-half Laois started the second-half in command. The reshuffled Meath full-back line were troubled as Munnelly, Carroll and Donie Brennan all pointed to restore parity within four minutes. Shane O'Rourke settled the hosts with a superb score that rivalled Mooney's and seconds later he restored a two-point cushion with a free after the lively Paddy Gilsenan was fouled. Farrell converted his second free, but Laois rallied with scores from Jason Enright and Munnelly (free) reducing the deficit to 0-8 to 0-9. However, Laois failed to score in the final 12 minutes as Shane O'Rourke finished the job with a brace of scores including a last gasp point which should have been a goal. It's on to Dublin on Saturday evening where McEnaney will get a good test of his side's credentials. Meath - B Murphy; C McGill, J Macken, C McGuinness; D Keoghan, B Menton, C King; T Walsh, C Gillespie; N Mooney (0-1), B Farrell (0-2 frees), S McAnarney; P Gilsenan, P O'Rourke (0-2), I Davis (0-2). Subs – S O'Rourke (0-4, two frees) for Murphy, G O'Brien for McGill, K Reilly for Macken all half-time; A Moyles for Mooney 41mins, B Meade for Walsh 58m. Laois – M Nolan; P Begley, C Boyle, R Kehoe; D Strong, S Julian, N Dooher; C Og Greene, C Coss; R Munnelly (0-4, two frees), G Kavanagh, C Maher; J Enright (0-1), D Carroll (0-2 frees), D Brennan (0-1. Subs - B Sheehan for Maher 43 mins, K Lillis for Carroll46m, P McMahon for Begley 54m, K Meaney for Coss 54m, M J Tierney for Brennan 66m. Referee – Niall Ward (Westmeath).