Bates highlights his team’s ‘collective performance under pressure’

A THRILLING Laois Senior Football Championship final ended in a draw on Sunday as first-time finalists Courtwood and reigning champions Portarlington shared the spoils at Laois Hire O’Moore Park. Courtwood’s historic debut in a county final was marked by determination and resilience, even as the team faced two periods playing with 14 men.

Manager Mark Bates was full of praise for his players after the match, highlighting their collective performance under pressure.

“Look, when you draw games, you look back and say you could have won it, could have lost it. We played 20 minutes of that game, down a man. We're very happy with the way we performed as a group and as a unit. The team is set up that way; it's not individuals, and you can see that with the way we defend, the way we attack, it's constant flows of players.

“When you're down a player, you obviously have to increase your workload, but ultimately, that's a game where we were four points down. We could have crumbled, we didn't, we came back, we got a goal and went a point up. Just wish we could hold on, but Port are excellent. They're very, very experienced. They’re looking to win a fifth title in the last six county championships, but they're just top class,” he said.

Courtwood struggled with shot accuracy in the opening half, registering just five scores from 18 attempts, a challenge Bates says has been a recurring issue for the team.

“100% and I think even games that we've won, with O’Dempsey’s we won by three and Portlaoise, we won by nine, but we're looking back on that and going, we're missing chances. But on that conversion rate, they made two superb blocks for goals in the first half. Unbelievable blocks if they don't get fingertips to those, they go in the goal, but they are the swings and roundabouts of football,” Bates said.

Disrupting Portarlington’s kick-outs was a central part of Courtwood’s game plan, something the coaching staff had identified and drilled ahead of the final.

“When you look back on the data on Port, they had a 92% win on the breaking ball against Graigue. Any team that's 92% on the breaking ball, you have to look at that and say, can we put a dent in that? We worked on that for two weeks, and we improved ourselves in that area as well,” he said.

Despite the occasion being new territory for the club, Bates was confident his players would rise to the challenge.

“Yeah, 100%. They're young. Tuesday night, we trained unbelievably well, and I left the pitch going, if we can bring that into Sunday, we're going to have a great chance. The key was, and I said that this morning to people who were texting me good luck, ultimately, you want your team to turn up. That's the first hurdle, and I felt if we got over that hurdle, we would be bang in the game, and ultimately that's what happened,” Bates commented.

With the replay scheduled for Sunday 26 October, Bates said the team’s focus will be on both physical and mental preparation, confident that the squad’s youth and mindset will serve them well.

“They're a young group, so they'll bounce out of this. I suppose the eye opener is that we know how good Portarlington are, and when you're coming into a game like this, again, an experienced team in finals, we don't have any experience like that. I suppose you have to play one to see where you're at, and I think we left here thinking we can compete with anyone.

“That's the mindset that we've had all year. It might not necessarily be seen outside of the group, but inside the dressing room and inside the training walls and on the pitch, we feel that we can match anyone in Laois,” he said.

Many of the Courtwood panel have previous success at underage level with St Paul’s, and Bates believes that experience, combined with strong leadership within the group, has instilled a fearless approach.

“There's no fear. Even a couple of older lads there, like Niall Donoher, is so experienced at inter-county level. He brings phenomenal leadership to the group. Sean O'Flynn, Sean O'Flynn's only 25, you’d swear he was 50. The way he behaves and he carries himself excellently. He's talking to the team; he’s the captain and he's a leader, but we have loads of leaders for a young group,” he ended.