Dublin 2-31 Laois 0-23: Donal Burke hits 1-16 to help Dubs to avenge 2019 defeat
Donal Burke hit 1-16 on his first championship appearance since 2017
Sunday 25 October 2020 11:51, UK
Dublin have set up a Leinster SHC semi-final showdown with Kilkenny, as they avenged last year's shock defeat to Laois with a 2-31 to 0-23 win over the O'Moore County.
The walk into Croke Park was a strange one. No traffic. No queues. No shouts of 'hats, flags and headbands!'
But when referee Paud O'Dwyer threw the ball in, the eerie atmosphere and bizarre backdrop of an empty stadium capable of holding 82,000 faded into oblivion. Dublin were out to set the record straight. Laois were out to prove 2019 was no fluke. Championship hurling was back.
Mattie Kenny had opted for youth in his side, with no room for stalwarts Liam Rushe and Conal Keaney on the starting XV. Indeed, Danny Sutcliffe (28) was the oldest outfield starter in a new-look Dubs team.
Dublin were clearly raring to go, right from the off. An early Sutcliffe shoulder bundling Padraig Delaney set the tone early for the Dubs.
Donal Burke, featuring in his first championship game since 2017 after missing the last two campaigns due to injuries and travel, was the key man for the Dubs up front. The Na Fianna man was a handful; accurate from placed balls and nailing two sweet points from play to help his side into a 0-10 to 0-6 lead at the water break.
Chris Crummey was lively throughout, offering an outlet from centre-forward and proving a handful for the opposition defence.
Burke then took the game by the scruff of the neck, making a storming run through the heart of the Laois defence and placing the yellow sliotar past Enda Rowland.
It helped Dublin establish a 1-16 to 0-12 lead at the break.
Laois needed a fast start after the interval, but it was Dublin who rattled off four points without reply.
The immaculate Burke missed just one free all night, as his accuracy kept the umpires on their toes, scurrying for white flags. Long-range pointed frees from Rowland were the highlight of a barren second-half for the O'Moore County. Laois lacked a sufficient goal threat, and couldn't bring it back closer than six.
Dublin's substitutions powered them home, as a late Eamon Dillon goal sealed a 14-point victory.
The Sky Blues now face Kilkenny in next week's semi-final, as they hunt a first Bob O'Keeffe Cup triumph since 2013. There were several positives for the men from the capital, not least the 2-31 tally, but bigger tasks lie ahead and they will need to find another gear if they are to upset last year's All-Ireland finalists.
Referee: Paud O'Dwyer (Carlow)
What they said...
"We're happy to get the performance. It's been a long-time coming. We started off last November. It's a long enough pre-season," said man of the match Burke.
"We came out with that with [last year's game] in the back of our minds. We wanted a bit of revenge for last year. We didn't do ourselves justice.
"From tomorrow, we'll get our heads right for next week.
"We had a bit of a lull in the second half and let them back into it. We were 11 up at half-time and we let them back to six. We'll have to look at that and try to pick it up."
"There's always areas you've got to improve," said Mattie Kenny.
"It was a very open game of hurling, and maybe that's a sign of things to come this year.
"There were good foundations - our backs played very well.
"Overall, it was our first game back, the first round of the championship, we wanted to get a good performance. The lads did reasonably well so we're happy enough with that."
Scorers
Dublin: Donal Burke 1-16 (0-11 frees, 0-2 65s), Eamon Dillon 1-1, Chris Crummey 0-3, Danny Sutcliffe 0-2, Riain McBride 0-2, Cian Boland 0-2, Conor Burke 0-2, Seán Moran 0-1, Mark Schutte 0-1, Davy Keogh 0-1.
Laois: Ross King 0-10 (0-9 frees, 0-1 65), Aaron Dunphy 0-3, Stephen Maher 0-2, Paddy Purcell 0-2, Enda Rowland 0-2 (0-2 frees), James Ryan 0-1, Jack Kelly 0-1, Padraig Delaney 0-1, Fiachra Fennell 0-1.
Teams
Dublin
1. Alan Nolan
2. Paddy Smyth
3. Eoghan O'Donnell
4. James Madden
5. Conor Burke
6. Daire Gray
7. Cian O'Callaghan
8. Seán Moran
9. Riain McBride
10. Cian Boland
13. Donal Burke
12. Danny Sutcliffe
11. Chris Crummey
15. Ronan Hayes
14. David Keogh
Subs:
Eamon Dillon for Ronan Hayes (50th minute)
Liam Rushe for Chris Crummey (56th minute)
Jake Malone for Daire Gray (61st minute)
Mark Schutte for Cian Boland (68th minute)
Shane Barrett for Seán Moran (72nd minute)
Laois
1. Enda Rowland
4. Donnchadh Hartnett
5. Ronan Broderick
2. Lee Cleere
3. Sean Downey
6. Padraig Delaney
7. Ryan Mullaney
8. Fiachra C Fennell
9. Paddy Purcell
13. James Keyes
10. Aaron Dunphy
11. Willie Dunphy
12. James Ryan
14. Ross King
15. Stephen Maher
Subs:
Jack Kelly for Lee Cleere (33rd minute)
Ciaran McEvoy for Ronan Broderick (36th minute)
Mark Kavanagh for James Keyes (half-time)
Conor Phelan for Ryan Mullaney (51st minute)
Eoin Gaughan for Stephen Maher (68th minute)
Sky Sports' live GAA coverage continues next Saturday, with Monaghan vs Cavan in the Ulster SFC and Cork vs Waterford in the Munster SHC.
