Leinster Minor Football Championship Rd 2 

FT Dublin 2-14 (20) Laois 2-02 (8) 

Supporters who travelled to Pairc Ui Mhurchu (home of Ballyboden St Endas GAA club) for the second round Leinster minor contest between Dublin and Laois witnessed a cagey and at times entertaining game of football.  

The intermittent heavy “April showers” did not favour an open flowing game of football, indeed both sets of defences dominated the early exchanges between the sides. Scores were at a premium throughout the opening half with forwards having to work extra hard to register on the scoreboard.  

Despite having the majority of possession Dublin only converted five of their scoring chances while Laois failed to register a single score during the opening period of the game. Megan McAuley, Sophie McIntyre (2), Heather Bolger and Niamh Donlon were on target for the Dub’s as they took a 0-05 to 0-00 lead into the half time dressing room.  

On the restart, Sophie McIntyre picked off a superb point to settle her side down. However, Dublin were soon reduced to 14 players when midfielder Annabelle Timothy was shown a yellow card.  

During this period Laois rallied and took the game to Dublin. Tara Byrne scored 1-02 without reply to reduce the deficit between the teams to just 2 points. Dublin introduced Ava Lambe into the game, and she immediately made an impact with the Dublin forward line finding new impetus.  Lambe and McIntyre tagged on two further points for the sky blues pushing their lead out to four.  

To their credit Laois rallied once more and were rewarded for their efforts when Amy McKane rattled the back of the Dublin net, just the minimum now separated the teams.  

The industrious Megan McAuley tapped on a well-taken point while Shauna Feely added three further points to give Dublin a cushion on the scoreboard heading into the final period of the match.  

At this stage of the contest, the Laois challenge began to fade as Dublin took over complete control of the game. Shauna Feely and Sophie McIntyre scored crucial goals for the home side as they saw out the final quarter of the game scoring 2-05 to no reply from Laois.  

Dublin now play Kildare in the final fixture of the Minor A round robin series on May 27th Next.  

Kildare enjoyed an impressive 2-14 to 2-10 victory over Meath this afternoon and now occupy top spot in the championship table with two wins from two games, Meath and Dublin have one win a piece with Laois in fourth place having yet to register a victory.  

Dublin Minor vs Laois: 1 Lauren Quane (Erins Isle), 2 Amber Taylor (Na Fianna), 3 Megan Dignam (Ballyboden St Endas), 17 Rachel Callery (Foxrock Cabinteely)5 Niamh Donlon (St Oliver Plunkett’s ER), 6 Áine Rafter (Ballyboden St Endas), 7 Hannah McGinnis (Skerries Harps), 8 Annabelle Timothy (St Finian’s Swords), 9 Niamh Crowley (Fingallians), 10 Sophie McIntyre (Lucan Sarsfields), 25 Shannon Russell (Erins Isle), 12 Shaunagh Delaney (Erins Isle), 13 Shauna Feely (Ballyboden St Endas), 14 Megan McAuley (Man O War), 15 Heather Bolger (Ballyboden St Endas). 

Subs: Ava Lame (St Vincent’s) for Russell, Ciara Murry (Cuala) for Delaney, Erica Field (Kilmacud Crokes) for Feely. 

Dublin Scorers: Sophie McIntyre, Shauna Feely 1-04 each, Megan McAuley 0-03, Heather Bolger, Niamh Donlon, Ava Lambe 0-01 each.  

Laois Scorers: Tara Byrne 1-02, Amy McKane 1-00.  

Photo and report with thanks to Dublin LGFA