Kevin Ryan praised the contribution of his Under 21 players after Carlow's All-Ireland SHC win over Laois at Dr Cullen Park on Saturday.

The win puts Ryan's charges through to the second round against Antrim this weekend and the manager hailed the performances of the players which avenged the county's recent Leinster U21HC defeat to the O'Moore men.

"We had five Under 21 lads out there and they made a huge contribution for us," said Ryan.

"For them to recover that quickly (was very surprising) and they made a huge difference. The Under 21 lads probably played better than they ever did with us. The lads could have been looking forward to a Leinster Under 21 final against Dublin, but at least they'll have one more game in the qualifiers, and that's great."

Carlow now travel to Belfast on Saturday, where a double-header is likely to be scheduled for Casement Park, with the Saffron footballers down to play their All-Ireland SFC qualifier replay against Kildare at the same venue. Tweet

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