Laois are set to take on their neighbours Offaly this weekend in the final of the Joe McDonagh Cup as both sides look to grab hurling's second-tier competition and promotion to the provincial championships. Here's everything you need to know about this years Joe McDonagh Cup final Laois v Offaly.
The two sides began their championship campaign against each other in Portlaoise in April, with the O'Moore County getting the better of the Faithful County despite Offaly holding a 0-21 to 0-15 lead with less than 20 minutes to go. Laois midfielder Paddy Purcell would grab two late goals, including one in the last minute, to win his side the match 2-21 to 0-24.
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Laois would kick on with the momentum gained from the win and would subsequently batter batter Meath 7-29 to 1-16 in round two in Trim. Willie Maher's men would then travel to Austin Stack Park to face Kerry, where they would defeat the Kingdom 1-25 to 0-18. The O'Moore County booked their place in the Joe McDonagh final in a dominant 4-31 to 0-17 win over Down at home.
In the last day of fixtures, Laois travelled to Westmeath where they would lose for the only time in the round-robin, with the Lake men getting a 2-26 to 0-16 win in Mullingar. Despite this, Laois would still finish the round-robin at the top spot.
Meanwhile Offaly would bounce back quickly from their opening day defeat. They would welcome Westmeath to O'Connor Park in round two where the Faithful County would win 2-23 to 1-20 despite a red card to captain Jason Sampson within seconds of throw-in. Round three would see Johnny Kelly's side cruise past Meath 5-31 to 3-16 in Trim.
An impressive win 3-24 to 0-15 at home to Kerry in round four was followed by a round five win away to Down in Ballycran. Despite a late comeback effort by the home side, Offaly would win 5-23 to 3-25 in the end to round-robin second and book their place in the final.
The winner of this game will face Cork in the All-Ireland preliminary quarter-finals and also win promotion to the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship for 2025. The runners-up will face Wexford in the preliminary quarter-finals.
When is the Joe McDonagh Cup final?
Laois are set to face Offaly in the Joe McDonagh Cup final this Saturday June 8th at Croke Park with throw-in expected for 3:30pm.
How can I watch the Joe McDonagh Cup final?
The match will be shown live on RTÉ2 and streamed on RTÉ Player with coverage getting underway at 3pm
Team News
Willie Maher has named nine changes to the Laois side that lost to Westmeath last time out. Ian Shanahan and Tom Cuddy come into the defence in place of Donnchadh Hartnett and Lee Cleere who start on the bench. Aidan Corby and Paddy Purcell play in midfield instead of John Lennon and Gearoid Lynch, with Fiachra C Fennell moving to the forwards.
Captain Aaron Dunphy and David Dooley replace Ross King and Cody Comerford in the half-forward line while James Duggan, Jer Quinlan, and Tomas Keyes start in a fully rotated full-forward line in place of Willie Dunphy, Martin Phelan, and Stephen Bergin.
TEAM ANNOUNCEMENT: Joe Mc Donagh Cup Final
Manager Willie Maher has named his Laois side to face Offaly in the Joe McDonagh Cup final at 3.30pm in Croke Park tomorrow, Saturday June 8th.
All support is greatly appreciated to get behind our lads in this important game. 🔵⚪… pic.twitter.com/xKEersVqKk— Laois GAA (@CLGLaois) June 7, 2024
Johnny Kelly has 13 made changes to the Offaly side that beat Down in the last round-robin game. Mark Troy starts in goal over Stephen Corcoran, while Ben Conneely, Ciaran Burke, Cathal King, Cillian Kiely and Donal Shirley come into the defence over Kieran Connors, Padraig Cantwell, Luke Watkins, Sam Bourke and Ross Ravenhill, with Jason Sampson moving into defence.
Killian Sampson and Eoghan Cahill replace Jack Clancy and James Nally in the half-forward line while Dan Bourke, Charlie Mitchell and u-20 All-Ireland hero Adam Screeney start in the full-forward line in place of Oisín Kelly, Paul Cleary, and Dara Maher, with Eimhín Kelly starting in midfield.
𝙅𝙤𝙚 𝙈𝙘𝘿𝙤𝙣𝙖𝙜𝙝 𝘾𝙪𝙥 𝙁𝙞𝙣𝙖𝙡 𝙏𝙚𝙖𝙢 𝘼𝙣𝙣𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙘𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩
Johnny Kelly has named his team that will play Laois in the 2024 Joe McDonagh Cup Final.@Offaly_GAA
v@CLGLaois
Saturday 8th June
Croke Park
Throw in 3.30pm
▪️Support your County▪️
The very best of… pic.twitter.com/3WamfV26eO— Official Offaly GAA (@Offaly_GAA) June 6, 2024
