Laois shock Westmeath to blow Division wide open

Laois blew Division 3 of the Allianz Football League wide open as they massively upset the odds to record victory over Westmeath on Saturday evening.

Justin McNulty's charges were outsiders against a side they hadn’t beaten since 2019 but turned that on its head.

A first-half goal from Ronan Coffey gave them the platform with strikes from Paul Kingston and Evan O’Carroll settling the matter in the second half.

It is a win that moves Laois from seventh to third in the table and leaves them just a point behind Westmeath who still sit second.

Laois played with the wind in the first half but a bit like their game against Clare last week, for long spells, it didn’t look like they were doing enough with it.

Luke Loughlin was on fire for Westmeath as his accuracy helped them battle back from a 1-4 to 0-3 deficit after 10 minutes when Coffey had scored Laois’s first goal following a great pass from Paddy O’Sullivan.

Laois got four of the last five scores of the half, including the night’s only two-pointer from keeper Killian Roche, to leave them 1-9 to 0-9 ahead at the break.

Westmeath turned with the wind in the second period but their shooting in front of goal really let them down - finishing with seven second half wides.

The game turned dramatically Laois’s way in the 50th minute when teenager Darren Brennan shot his goalbound effort handled on the ground inside the small square.

This was Laois’s third penalty in a row and after Evan O’Carroll had missed the previous two, Paul Kingston took responsibility and converted.

And then Laois settled the game as a contest in the 65th minute when sub Niall Corbet found O’Carroll and he unleashed a powerful finish to the corner.

There was late drama as Loughlin converted a penalty after Jack Lacey was black carded but Westmeath’s night got even worse before the end when midfielder Ray Connellan was shown a straight red card for an off-the-ball incident.

Laois: Killian Roche (0-03, 1tp); Jack Lacey, Trevor Collins, Jake Darcy; Paddy O’Sullivan, Aaron McEvoy, Simon Fingleton; Conor Heffernan, Rob Tyrell; Darren Brennan (0-01), Ronan Coffey (1-01), Kevin Swayne (0-01); Rioghan Murphy (0-01), Daragh Galvin (0-03), Evan O’Carroll (1-03, 0-02 frees).

Subs: Padraig Kirwan (0-01) for McEvoy (45), Paul Kingston (1-02, 1-00 pen, 0-01f) for Coffey (48), Ciaran Burke for Tyrrell (58), Niall Corbet for Brennan (64), Mikie Dempsey for Murphy (68)

Westmeath: Jack Connaughton; Danny Scahill, Charlie Drumm, Sam Smyth; Ronan Wallace, Shane Allen (0-01), Matthew Whittaker; Ray Connellan, Harry Niall; Kevin O’Sullivan (0-03), Sam McCarten (0-02, one free) Brian Cooney; Shane Corcoran (0-01), Luke Loughlin (1-06, 1-00 pen, 0-02f) Robbie Ford.

Subs: Danny McCarten for Corcoran (HT), Brian Guerin for Niall (48), Tom Molloy for Ford (49), Brandon Kelly for Wallace (55), Jack Duncan for Whittaker (57)

Referee: Chris Maguire (Clare)

Click here to read article