Our 2025 Remembered series is brought to you in association with Bloom HQ, Mountrath
This year’s Laois SFC drawn final was an absolute thriller. We tried to make sense of it in the aftermath.
In the immediate aftermath of Sunday’s thrilling Laois Shopping Centre SFC final, former Courtwood and Laois player George Doyle described it as a “game for the ages”.
And it’s very hard to argue.
Sunday’s final between both Courtwood and Portarlington wasn’t just a novel pairing and a great occasion – it was an absolute edge-of-your-seat thriller.
It was close, chaotic and end-to-end. The underdog got off to a dream start, were leading in the first minute of injury time, losing in the last minute of injury time and eventually got level.
In injury time alone, Courtwood were a point up, then level, then a point down, then level again. And then hanging on as Port went in search of a winner in the added-on time of injury time. Holy Moses, as Marty Morrissey might say.
There have been decent Laois finals in the past, like Jody Dillon winning it for Stradbally in 2016 with a last-second goal, Emo drawing with Portlaoise in 2015 and going way back, O’Dempsey’s stunning Graigue in 1980 with a goal with one of the last kicks.
This would hold its own, and more, with any of them.
The new rules certainly contributed, so too did the attack-minded mentality of both teams as did referee Seamus Mulhare who largely seemed to decide in the last couple of minutes to forget about his whistle.
Port were aggrieved that Colm Murphy wasn’t awarded a free deep in added time of injury time. In real time it looked like a foul by Niall Donoher but looking back, Murphy went to ground easily enough. At that stage of the game, it would have been a massive call to give a free like that to win it.
That argument would never have arisen if Mulhare had blown the final whistle on Luke O’Reilly’s kickout after Courtwood had levelled it, which was dropping on 63.58, two seconds short of the signalled four minutes of injury time. Very few could have complained at that stage.
Across the course of the afternoon, there were just so many talking points, so many little incidents, on both sides.
Like any big game, they can be distilled down to a couple of different categories: misses, moments and referee’s calls. Often they are inter-connected.
Courtwood’s flying start had them 1-3 to 0-1 up after 12 minutes after an early ransacking of the Portarlington kickout – in total in the first half they won seven of Port’s 10 kickouts.
But Courtwood’s erratic shooting in that first half saw them convert just five of 18 scoring chances, and they got just one point in all after the 12th minute until half time.
Robbie Pigott’s block on Alan Kinsella was stunning; Sean Byrne’s flick on Paul O’Flynn equally so.
Were Courtwood too gung-ho in search of two-pointers? Matthew Byron missed three very long-range efforts in that first half, though Luke O’Reilly has to be credited for catching the last one that was going over the bar. A two-point catch is a big one.
In all Courtwood had six two-point free efforts and got two of them. The second one was a massive decision that was rewarded, turning down the easy one-pointer to take the free from outside the arc after it had been brought forward.
The second half was particularly crazy, with Courtwood getting two good goal chances (on top of the three they had in the first half) through Rob Tyrell and Sean O’Flynn.
At least out of the second one Alan Kinsella managed to punch a point and they eventually got the goal from the next kickout, a score that put them one ahead with 56 minutes on the clock.
Port had kept clean sheets in all four of their previous finals. Here they conceded two goals and were lucky that’s all it was.
When Port look back on the replay of that second Courtwood goal, they’ll wonder how Ryan Little was completely unmarked to set up Kinsella for the goal, which he finished brilliantly.
Sean O’Flynn and Sean Byrne had a right battle around midfield and Rob Tyrell and Keith Bracken both had big moments. Robbie Pigott made some huge plays for Port while Niall Donoher and Niall Dunne got on a massive amount of ball.
Jake Doyle’s black card in the ninth minute seemed obvious but Courtwood could argue that Paul O’Flynn’s challenge in the 36th minute – rash and all as it was – was more of a yellow than a black. It didn’t look like a deliberate pull down.
Jason Moore could certainly count himself lucky that his challenge on Mark O’Halloran under the stand moments later was only a yellow.
O’Halloran, too, deserves mention for the impact he made on the second half, scoring a point with his first touch and winning three kickouts, including the one that led to Kinsella’s goal.
Port then could point to the Keith Bracken incident, which followed on from two harsh frees given against them moments earlier. The sideline ball was allowed to be taken when Bracken was down and when he re-joined the play there was blood pumping down his face.
Bracken was central to Port’s kickout improvement in the second half, setting the tone by winning the two after half time that O’Reilly went long with.
Looking back, two of the biggest-impact players on the game were two lads who’ve been arguably their team’s best players all season: Courtwood’s Cian Doyle and Port’s Paddy O’Sullivan.
Doyle scored two points from play, gave an assist for one and was fouled for three frees that led to 0-5 – Byron’s two two-pointers and Dylan Keane’s equaliser.
O’Sullivan had six shots on goal, scored 0-3, including the first equaliser 30 seconds into injury time, had three assists and won four kickouts. That’s fair going, again, for a wing-back.
The misses will play on the minds too: Jake Foster, though he got Port off the mark with a brilliant point in the sixth minute and took his goal wonderfully, had three shots in the second half and didn’t score any of them.
Kinsella finished with 1-1 but he was off target with his first four shots. Ryan Little was unlucky not to get a goal in the first half (although Courtwood’s goal did come from his shot that rebounded off the crossbar) and he was also wide with an effort from a tight angle in injury time that would have put Courtwood ahead.
Rioghan Murphy was another player who put in a big shift. Most of his work was around midfield but his only point was a huge one, two and a half minutes into injury time to put Port back into the lead.
The foul on Cian Doyle that led to Courtwood’s eventual levelling point was undisputed.
Now they have a replay to get ready for, which hasn’t been without its share of controversy. All of the past four sets of fixtures sent by Laois GAA – as well as the details in the match programme – said that in the event of a draw, the replay would be on Saturday, October 18.
Officials from both clubs met shortly afterwards with Laois GAA and agreed to Sunday week, October 26, but Port subsequently weren’t happy with that and it has since been moved back to Saturday, October 25, at 6.30pm.
No reason has been put forward by Laois explaining the sudden change. Rob Tyrell’s status as a dual player with Camross, who are in the senior hurling final this weekend, is one potential reason but plenty of dual players around the county will observe that one with interest. Accommodating dual players, playing with different clubs, has been a massive challenge previously.
Who does the two-week break suit more?
Courtwood have gone to the well five games in a row now. They have been absolutely brilliant, as outsiders in every game, but is hard to keep that going, mentally and physically.
Most of the Port players have had a much shorter season. This year, just like last year, collectively they don’t have the volume of work done as most other clubs. Up to now, their sheer quality has been enough for them to overcome that.
This season there has been a lack of sharpness about them for a couple of rounds now.
With two more weeks of training together, can they find that old spark, that extra bit of improvement?
The hurling final goes centre stage this weekend, which is probably no harm.
Players, managers, officials and supporters could all do with a breather.
They’ll be all ready to go again under the lights on Saturday week. The rest of us won’t be able to keep our eyes off it.
Our 2025 Remembered series is brought to you in association with Bloom HQ, Mountrath
SEE ALSO – In Pictures: All the best images from a dramatic county final between Portarlington and Courtwood
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