Laois banish Croke Park woes to reach Tailteann Cup final

Resurgent Laois came storming from behind with a thrilling final quarter at Croke Park to secure their Tailteann Cup final place, and precious redemption.

A year after being hammered at the same stage and venue by Down, conceding a whopping 8-16, the side now managed by Justin McNulty turned the tables with a number of crucial goals themselves.

Defender Brian Byrne scored two of them while Kevin Swayne struck the other in an impressive five-point win for the Leinster side.

There were strong performances too from Mark Barry, who struck four points, captain Evan O'Carroll and sweeper 'keeper Killian Roche who managed to get in on the scoring action with a score from play.

Laois will return to Croke Park on July 13 to play either Down or Sligo in the final with the tantalising prize of a place in next year's All-Ireland SFC for the winners of that contest.

Truth be told, it's already been a terrific season for Laois who won the Division 4 title under McNulty before taking off on their Championship odyssey, beating many people's Tailteann Cup favourites Kildare in the quarter-finals last weekend.

As for Antrim, it's the end of their season and they will lament the poor final 20 minutes or so when they relinquished a three-point lead and were outscored by 2-05 to 0-03.

Both sides were desperate to push on from painful semi-final defeats in 2023 with Laois pummeled by Down and Antrim coming up two points short of eventual champions Meath.

Goalpoacher Ruairi McCann, from the St Mary's club, still ended 2023 as a Tailteann Cup All-Star, Antrim's first, and his form has been consistent since.

Laois were wise to his threat and detailed experienced defender Mark Timmons to keep tabs on the powerful Aghagallon man.

McCann still won an early