Antrim fightback repelled by high scoring Laois

Two  second half goals from Eoghan Campbell and Nigel Elliott brought Antrim back from the brink at O’Moore Park in Portaloise. Nine points in arrears at a stage in the second half the Saffrons appeared to be in for a real pasting but to their credit they battled back and when Elliott scored a superb goal in the 67^th minute they had the gap down to four. However that was as close as they would get and Laois added two late points to run out winners by 0-27 to 2-16

Antrim had started well and were 0-4 to 0-1 up after nine minutes, but they lost their way as Laois stormed back and with corner forward Ross King punishing every Antrim error they went on to lead by 0-13 to 0-8 at half time.

The home side stretched their lead to nine midway through the second  half before a raft of changes for Antrim saw them  up their game and when Eoghan Campbell, playing his first game since last season’s county final, grabbed a clever goal there was suddenly new hope.  Laois pulled clear again but Elliott’s superb strike raised hopes yet again. There were a couple of chances in a frantic finish,  but  Laois remained calm and two late points from midfielder Patrick Purcell and top scorer King (his 16^th of the game) sealed a deserved win for the home side.

Full report and photos to follow