Latest news with #PádraigDelaney


RTÉ News
13-06-2025
- Sport
- RTÉ News
Wounded Laois ready for 'huge' Tipperary test
Laois hurler Pádraig Delaney has labelled this Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Tipperary a "huge test" as they look to bounce back from Joe McDonagh Cup final agony. The O'Moore County fell at the hands of neighbours Kildare in Croke Park last Sunday, 12 months on from another agonising loss to Offaly in the same fixture. They would ultimately go on to lose to Wexford a week later but are buoyed by the prospect of taking a major scalp this time around. "It's a big test just a week after. It's great to have a game like that. We'll be back training tonight and hopefully we'll prepare as best we can for it," Delaney told RTÉ Sport. "It's going to be a huge test, we know that, but we'll try and prepare as best we can." Tipperary finished the Munster championship level on points with finalists Cork and Limerick, suggesting a huge task awaits the Midlanders, but Delaney is aware of where his county men need to improve ahead of Saturday's encounter in Portlaoise. "I think the game got away from us there in the second half. We got a goal after half-time, and I thought we would push on. Cathal [Dunne] made a few great saves as well, but they just tagged on the scores easier than we did. "We struggled on our own puck-outs and that's disappointing." The Harps centre-back started in every game for Laois across the McDonagh Cup campaign, scoring in each of their six games. There is no doubt that losses can leave a scar. Laois were All-Ireland quarter-finalists back in 2019, when they lost to eventual champions Tipperary. But there's no hang-up towards Kildare's history-making result. "It's a tough one to take after two years. Kildare were full value, they're a great side with some brilliant players there and we are just disappointed overall," added Delaney. The target now is on a home showdown with another neighbour, before looking to go all the way in the Joe McDonagh next year, and return to the Leinster Championship. "We want to get back to Leinster Championship and to do that, we have to win the Joe McDonagh, and we have to consistently beat these teams. So hopefully we're back again next year and we'll go again." Despite the short turnaround between the Joe McDonagh final and the preliminary quarter-final, Delaney and co are enjoying the challenge. "We're going to have to pick ourselves up. It's a tough championship, like it's week on week, but it's enjoyable. So we'll go back training tonight and we'll try and try and pick the lads up and we'll go again on Saturday."


The Irish Sun
24-05-2025
- Sport
- The Irish Sun
Laois break Carlow hearts with last-gasp leveller to book Joe McDonagh final spot
Laois are headed back to the Joe McDonagh Cup final after they broke Carlow's hearts deep into stoppage time at Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday. James Duggan got the faintest of touches on Pádraig Delaney's 65 with the last play of tense local derby, levelling the game at Laois 1-20 to Carlow's 2-17. 2 Laois scored a late leveller against Carlow in dramatic fashion to seal a Joe McDonagh final place 2 Kildare will face Laois in the final after the overcame Down on Saturday afternoon And that meant the sides were level on points and so Laois advance to the final in a fortnight thanks to their superior scoring difference. The contest also started with a goal, this time for Carlow's Chris Nolan, and they soon led by four points. Tomás Keyes led the way for Laois as they rallied to get back to within a point by half-time, but a second Carlow goal, this time for Paddy Boland, put the home side on the front foot again. Keyes kept knocking over dead ball scores however, racking up 0-14 in all, and that left the O'Moore County close enough to deliver their late, killer blow. read more on gaa The challenge facing Laois in that final will be to upset a Kildare team that is full of momentum and confidence. The Lily Whites needed a fourth win in succession to reach their first ever Joe McDonagh final and they did that in style at St. Conleth's Park, slashing through Down by 1-26 to 1-14 The first eight points of the game were equally shared but Kildare hit the turbo and left Down trailing their slipstream over the next 20 minutes, taking a 1-14 to 0-7 lead into the break. Cathal McCabe, Simon Leacy and Cian Boran were dominant around the middle third, Daire Guerin set up David Qualter for a goal – Qualter finished with 1-13 – and the result was settled long before Shea Pucci struck a late consolation goal for Down. Most read in Uncategorized Ironically, the only team that beat Kildare in this competition was Kerry, who have now been relegated to the Christy Ring Cup after Westmeath hammered them by double scores in Tralee, 2-28 to 1-14. Niall O'Brien hit an early goal for Westmeath who were 1-15 to 1-3 ahead before a couple of Pádraig Boyle points before half-time gave Kerry the faintest sliver of hope. Sharlene Mawdsley encounters unexpected headache on first trip abroad since GAA boyfriend reveal Five minutes into the second half Killian Doyle had two more points as he moved on towards a tally of 0-15, teenager David O'Reilly added 1-1, and Kerry's relegation was inevitable. New York's inclusion in the Lory Meaghar Cup was controversial as the Exiles were seen by many as far too strong for the bottom tier of the intercounty hurling structure. A 1-29 to 2-13 win over Monaghan in yesterday's semi-final in Mullingar won't do anything to dispel those rumours. AJ Willis, part of a strong Tipperary contingent on the New York side, scored 1-9 while David Mangan hit 0-10, with former Galway star Johnny Glynn orchestrating play once he moved outto midfield. New York will now play Cavan in the final on Saturday in Croke Park.