Laois manager Stephen Duff left frustrated after narrow defeat to Down

The Laois ladies football manager Stephen Duff cut a frustrated figure after his side’s defeat to Down on Sunday, admitting that while the performance showed promise, familiar issues once again left his team with too much ground to make up.

Rather than disappointment, frustration was the overriding emotion as Laois found themselves chasing the game from an early stage.

“It’s not so much disappointing, it is frustrating probably is what it is because again we didn’t give ourselves any favours as we gave ourselves a mountain to climb yet again.

“It’s like we are greyhounds running after a hare they like to chase – it is exactly the same as 12 months ago this early in the year.” A slow start proved costly, with Down racing into an early lead that forced Laois to play catch-up for long periods.

“We wanted to start well today and that wasn’t the case and gave ourselves a six-point mountain to climb “We got it back to a point and they got another goal, so look we had our own chances to win the game.” Despite the defeat, the manager highlighted positives in Laois’ attacking output, pointing to their final tally of 1-13 as evidence they are creating enough to be competitive but are conceding far too much.

“We scored 1-13 and that’s a score that can win a game; it is just we are conceding too much. The amount we created, we as well had chances to win that game which is a real positive. We are creating enough to win it but unfortunately at the other end we are leaking goals and scoring chances.” The defensive lapses, he feels, stem from a broader issue in how the team approaches games early on.

“We need to take a good look at ourselves and ask why this is happening. That is the conversation we just had with the girls there. We are reactive in everything we do, and we aren’t putting our front foot forward.” He also challenged the group to examine why early-season performances continue to lag behind their known potential.

“We have the talent, we proved that. We can get to Croke Park when it is easy, when it is nice, but in January for some reason we don’t want to do it. Look, we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and ask why that is.

“We haven’t got the results we have wanted because of the draw last week we put out the most experienced team as possible minus Mo and Laura Marie, so there is no reason why that team shouldn’t be going to win that game,” he said.

The manager acknowledged the challenges posed by a shortened pre-season following last year’s All-Ireland run but stressed it cannot be used as an excuse and now attentions turn to Limerick next weekend “It’s very frustrating. We need to get results quick, and we haven’t done a huge amount of football. Getting to an All-Ireland final was hard on us away, we couldn’t get players back early, so our pre-season only started in December whereas the majority of teams are a month ahead of us. It’s not an excuse, it is difficult, but we just need to get results down the line.

“Limerick next week has to be our full focus,” There was also encouragement taken from the return of Anna Healy to the panel after her hiatus travelling and also Duff confirmed Mo Nerney and Laura Marie Maher will be back with the fold in the next few weeks.

“It’s great to have Anna back. She plays with her heart on her sleeve and gives you everything and has so much experience. She has to settle into the group now – it is hard for her coming into a group who have been together two or three years.

“We expect Mo and Laura Marie back in the next few weeks and as of now that is it as far as we are concerned with no one else rejoining the panel”.