Laois attacking ace Ross Munnelly stole the show as his 1-7 tally saw Cavan make the drop to division two for next season after a scrappy affair at Kingspan/Breffni Park. Cavan 1-8 Laois 1-11 The opening 35 minutes barely simmered with the heat of battle scarcely reflecting the burning ambition of sides battling to avoid the relegation trap door. Then suddenly in the space of two minutes the game came to the boil. A superb delivery forward by Sean Johnston in the 17th was fetched by exciting youngster Sean Brady who advanced three strides before rifling the ball from 16 metres into the back of the Laois net. Pearse McKenna's excellent point - after combining with midfield partner Collins - had propelled the Breffni Blues into a 1-3 to 0-3 lead by the 26th minute but that was to be Cavan's final score of the first half. Appropriately it was the half's sharpest attacker Ross Munnelly who made the difference in those milestone minutes with a 1-2 tally, highlighted by his 35th minute goal after Colm Parkinson put him running through on the unprotected Elliott. Cavan came out fighting in the second half and, initially, their sleeves-rolled-up play had the visitors on the backfoot as O'Dwyer's men sought to hold onto their 1-6 to 1-3 interval lead. Two Larry Reilly points inside the first 12 minutes of the restart promised much for the homesters as they cut Laois's lead to a single point, 1-7 to 1-6. Cavan stuck to their task and the threatening runs of substitute Gerald Pierson kept the Laois defenders on their toes. However the goal(s) that the Ulstermen desperately needed to get themselves out of jail never looked like materialising and, instead, it was Munnelly who had the best chance of a goal in the latter part of the game only to screw his effort wide of the diving Elliott in the 59th minute. Urged on by their vociferous support, Cavan hung in there and a Pierson point again made it a one point game in the 62nd minute. However a point by the rampaging Tom Kelly and a late, late effort by man of the match Munnelly thereafter closed the door on Cavan's salvage operation. Laois - F Byron, P McDonald, C Byrne, J Higgins, D Mulhall, T Kelly 0-1, K Fitzpatrick, A Fennelly, D McEvoy, R Munnelly 1-8, I Fitzgerald, B McDonald 0-1, M Lawlor 0-1, C Parkinson, C Conway. Subs: M Dunne for C Conway, P Lawlor for C Parkinson Cavan - E Elliott, C McGovern, T Prior, P Brady, K Crotty, T Crowe, E Reilly, P McKenna 0-1, C Collins, S Brady 1-0, A Forde 0-1, L Reilly 0-2, S Johnston 0-1, J Reilly 0-2, F O'Reilly. Subs: G Pearson 0-1 for F O'Reilly, M Lyng for S Johnston Referee - P Carney (Roscommon) Tweet

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