Tomas O Flatharta and his Laois troops are out in championship action for the third weekend in-a-row today.

The O'Moore County welcome Antrim to Portlaoise for a round 1A qualifier clash and they'll be looking to bounce back from the disappointment of last Saturday's 1-11 to 3-18 Leinster quarter-final replay defeat to Kildare.

Paul Kingston returns to the side in the only change from last weekend with Tom Shiel dropping to the bench.

"It will be a test of our character to see how strongly we can come back and it's really important that we turn this around really quickly and get back on the horse." O Flatharta remarked. 

"We have a game next weekend, it's against Antrim, it's a home venue for us so we just have to start off from there again."

Antrim, meanwhile, will be minus the services of Ricky Johnston as the game clashes with his father's anniversary mass.

Saffrons defender Tony Scullion is looking forward to the challenge: "This is a big, big game for us, a tough one by any standards, but we have to be up for it. We want to stay in the Qualifiers for as long as we can."

Verdict - Laois.

Laois team: Graham Brody; Damien O'Connor, Mark Timmons, Stephen Attride; Darren Strong, Robbie Kehoe, Colm Begley; Brendan Quigley, John O'Loughlin; Niall Donoher, Conor Boyle, Evan O'Carroll; Ross Munnelly, Donal Kingston, Paul Kingston.

Antrim team: tbc.

Match details: Saturday; O'Moore Park, Portlaoise; 2.30pm; extra-time playable.

Referee: Derek O'Mahoney

Odds: Laois 1/7, Draw 14/1, Antrim 11/2.

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