Boss O'Dwyer praises Laois spirit

Ross Munnelly scored four points as Laois beat Derry

Manager Mick O'Dwyer hailed a superb Laois comeback as the beaten finalists in Leinster rallied to beat Derry 1-11 to 0-11 at the Croke Park qualifier.

Laois had been five points adrift in the first period but Laois dominated after the interval to go through to meet Armagh in the quarter-finals.

"We seem to be playing out best in the second half," said O'Dwyer.

"We showed character and got the scores when we needed them. It was a great finish to a fine team performance."

O'Dwyer knows Laois should have scored more points as they had trouble converting frees.

Ross Munnelly, who otherwise had a good game, fluffled four first-half frees from his hands.

Laois tried Padraig McMahon after the break but he missed his first free from a placed ball.

"The fact that we missed scores augurs well for the future," argued O'Dwyer.

"We should have scored 2-05 in the first half.

"Armagh will be tough in the quarter-finals, no doubt about that. We always seem to come up against Ulster sides when we get out of our county championship."