Goals were the difference as Laois stumbled to a 3-16 to 0-18 victory over spirited Wicklow at O'Moore Park.

Gary Walsh, substitute Ruairi O'Connor and the mercurial Donie Kingston (1-6) netted the clinching scores for the hosts, while John O'Loughlin put in a lung-bursting display in the engine room. Wicklow, who had ten different scorers and were still within two points with three minutes left, gave as good as they got but were ultimately made to pay the price for a series of rudimentary errors.

The dubious prize for the winners is a quarter-final date with all-conquering Dublin next month, while Johnny Magee's charges go into the Qualifiers with their heads held high.

Walsh's major helped the winners take a 1-10 to 0-8 interval lead, with the visitors having scuffed a number of first-half chances from placed balls.

Evan O'Carroll's superb long-range free had the hosts ahead inside a minute and Paul Cahillane pointed off the top of the crossbar before the Garden County hit back through Darren Hayden and Paddy Byrne - 0-2 each after five minutes.

Walsh thumped the ball to the net with aplomb in the eighth minute and a Ross Munnelly brace - one free, one from play - edged the favourites five points clear. Rory Finn (free) and O'Carroll traded scores as did Kingston (free) and Wicklow full back Paul McLoughlin.

John McGrath (free) and Finn - with a super strike from distance - were on target as the underdogs landed three in succession but a Walsh point made it 1-7 to 0-6 after 22 minutes. Finn's converted free pared the margin but the O'Moore men hit back with Kingston's second score.

Wing back Gareth Dillon and O'Loughlin added to the home side's tally and Wicklow wasted a number of scoring chances before centre back Dean Healy closed the first-half scoring with an injury-time strike.

Finn's free at the start of the second half reduced the arrears to four points and Wicklow had further points from Paul Cunningham (free), McGrath and half-time substitute Anthony McLoughlin to edge within the minimum before O'Carroll pointed a free at the other end to double the difference, 1-11 to 0-12.

Half-time substitute Ruairi O'Connor exploited a mix-up in the Wicklow defence to plunder the second Laois goal in the eleventh minute of the second half and Evan O'Carroll's pointed free left six between the sides before the Garden County hit back with points from Healy, Cunnningham (free) and Finn (from 50 metres) - 2-12 to 0-15 with a quarter of the game left.

Finn's thumping free - his sixth point - delivered Wicklow's fourth successive score before Kingston steadied Laois with two rapid points inside 30 seconds approaching the hour mark. But substitute John Crowe and corner back Arran Murphy hit back as the Division Four side again closed within two with 64 minutes played.

Kingston pointed a free and then rifled the ball to the roof of the net to end the match as a contest with two minutes left. The classy corner forward followed up with a point from play in added time to close the scoring on a night when Mick Lillis' men - playing in all white - advanced but didn't really impress.

Laois - G Brody; P Cotter, M Timmons, S Attride; D O'Connor, D Strong, G Dillon (0-1); J O'Loughlin (0-1), B Quigley; N Donoher, P Cahillane (0-1f), E O'Carroll (0-4, 3f); R Munnelly (0-2, 1f), G Walsh (1-1), D Kingston (1-6, 0-1f). Subs: R O'Connor (1-0) for R Munnelly, M Campion for N Donoher, K Meaney for M Campion, A Farrell for G Dillon, E Keane for G Walsh, J Farrell for E O'Carroll.

Wicklow - R Lambert; C Hyland, P McLoughlin (0-1), A Murphy (0-1); S Kelly, D Healy (0-2), C Murphy; R Finn (0-6, 3f), N Gaffney; D Hayden (0-1), J McGrath (0-2, 1f), M Kenny; P Byrne (0-1), P Cunningham (0-2f), M Lennon. Subs: A McLoughlin (0-1) for N Gaffney, D Woods for M Kenny, P O'Connor for J McGrath, J Crowe (0-1) for C Murphy, S Thompson for P Byrne, G Allen for M Lennon.

Referee - F Kelly.

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