Sport

Derry's late steal

Defending champions Derry got their league campaign off to a winning start at Celtic Park yesterday with a narrow victory over…

Mon Nov 13 2000 - 00:00

Defending champions Derry got their league campaign off to a winning start at Celtic Park yesterday with a narrow victory over Laois. It needed a Kieran McKeever point five minutes into added time to give Derry victory, after Laois had fought back from six points down to almost gain a share of the spoils.

The match was disappointing and not helped by the slippery conditions, but early points from Conleth Gilligan and Paddy Bradley gave Derry the initiative.

Laois fought back and led for the only time in the game when, following two Chris Conway points, Gregory Ramsbottom put them in front. Derry responded with points from Paul McFlynn and Gilligan, before Conway pointed to level matters.

The game's opening goal arrived one minute before the break when Gilligan, Bradley and Enda Muldoon combined to set up Gavin Conwell who had little difficulty in finding the net to give Derry a 1-4 to 0-4 interval lead.

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Derry went six points clear in the 47th minute when, from a Paul Murphy ball to the edge of the square, Conway rose highest to fist home his second goal.

Laois got right back into the match with 12 minutes remaining when Padraig Langton's half-hit shot fell into the path of Chris Conway who thumped the ball across goal and into the corner of the net.

Only one point behind, Laois now had the initiative, but they failed to take the chances they created and had to settle for another Conway point to level matters with four minutes left. With five minutes of injury-time played and a draw looking likely, McKeever stole the points for Derry with a fine point from the right.

DERRY: O McCloskey; K McCann, K McCloy, P Kelly; A Heaney, F Crossan, G Coleman; N McCusker, P O'Kane; C Gilligan (0-2), P Murphy, P McFlynn (0-1); P Bradley (0-2), E Muldoon (0-1), G Conwell (2-0). Subs: P Carton for Heaney (30 mins); J Conway for McCusker, K McKeever (0-1) for Coleman (both half-time).

LAOIS: F Byron; P Leonard, E Delaney, M Slevin; A Fennelly, P Conway, JP Kehoe (0-1); J Kealy, N Garvan; M Lambe, I Fitzgerald, M Lawlor; C Conway (1-5), G Ram sbottom (0-3), P Dunne. Subs: K Kelly for Lambe (39 mins); P Langton for Dunne (50); C Parkinson for Kehoe (56).

Referee: H Beirne (Roscommon).