However, John Evan's men who jumped two divisions in two seasons to reach the lofty heights of the ultra-competitive Division Two tier, are nothing if not doughty fighters, and staged a second-half fightback of heroic proportions that pushed the fancied home side to the limits-a last minute goal attempt by Seamus Grogan seemed to hit the post and Laois cleared the danger.
Interestingly, Tipp scored the same tally (1-9) in the second-half that Laois chalked up in the opening period. The Premier County stunned the comfortable Laois outfit by outscoring them with 1-6 from play in the enthralling comeback, and might well have been celebrating a famous victory had Seamus Grogan not endured the heartbreak of seeing his cracking shot rebound, much to the relief of the Leinstermen.
Laois had strained every sinew in an effort to survive the Tipp onslaught after the visitors had levelled the pegging (1-11 each) in 61st minute, thanks to a lovely point from excellent substitute Conor Sweeney. As it transpired, 64th and 65th minute points from Brendan Quigley and substitute Donal Miller were sufficient to see them pick up their first victory in the campaign, but, they lived dangerously in the dying minutes (one minutes of injury time included) as Tipp maintained intense pressure on their defence.
While it was generally felt that Tipp would be punching above their weight in every game in Divsion Two, the 2009 Division 3 champions travelled to O'Moore Park with more than a modicum of hope. After all, Laois were bereft of five regulars, some ruled out through injury and suspension. In the circumstances, they were leaving nothing to chance from the start. From the second minute when impressive corner-forward MJ Tierney kicked the opening point they put Tipp on the back foot. Physically, very strong in central positions they demonstrated quite clearly to a nervous Tipp what it takes to compete in the upper echelons of the league. Midfielders Brendan Quigley and Cathal Og Greene won great ball, and maintained a steady supply to their attack where tall forwards Donal Kingston, Paul Lawlor, and Ambrose Doran were menacing in their play. Tipp managed to launch only one complete attack on the Laois inside line of defence inside the opening nine minutes. They struggled to compete outfield with the result that their target man Barry Grogan was starved of possession. Laois should have had more than five points on the board twenty six minutes into the game, and Tipp, playing well below their capabilities, looked quite dejected after Michael John Tierney rifled home a gem of a goal from close range in 28th minute (1-5 to 0-0). To compound their difficulties they lost right full-forward Stephen Hahessy at this stage, he had never fully recovered from a knock to the face early in the game. Barry Grogan brought the first real cheer from Tipp supporters when he kicked his sides opening score of the game, a point from a free in 29th minute, after he was pulled down while heading towards goal. In 35th minute Grogan set up Philip Austin for his sides only point from play in the opening half, and Tipp's case seemed all but hopeless after Greene and Tierney scored points in injury time, to leave a massive gap of ten in the difference at the break (1-9 to 0-2).