McNulty delighted with players’ positive response to Kildare defeat

LAOIS senior football manager Justin McNulty was beaming with pride on Saturday evening as his Laois side dug deep to get over the line and record a two-point victory over a 14-man Antrim in Portlaoise.

McNulty reflected on the ‘uncomfortable’ week that the players had having been well-beaten by Kildare the previous week but was delighted that his players ‘got back on the horse’.

“We're immensely impressed by the character the guys demonstrated. They took a major blow last week, a performance that nobody could be proud of and all of us were hurting. The players were hurting the most because they know they're better than what they exhibited last week, and they got back on the horse and that's what this week was about. It was a very uncomfortable week, a very uneasy week and we were very, very unhappy but for that to be the case and for the players to then go and dig out a result like they did, it was faltering. It was messy on occasions, but they still dug it out. We're back on the horse and nothing's off the table, well done to the players,” he said.

Laois had gotten off to a great start scoring two points early on before disaster struck when Antrim scored into an empty net. Killian Roche had been supporting Laois on an attack but Seamus Lacey fouled the ball on the floor and a few seconds later, the umpire is raising a green flag. The Laois manager feels his players should be praised for the way they got themselves back into the game.

“I think we played them into the game, I think they scored most of their scores off our turnovers and our short shots, our kick outs, so the players deserve immense credit for that game because they corrected that on the pitch and turned it around and stayed in the game even though things were not going particularly well for us across the park. They stayed in the game and they fixed things, they corrected things, they deserve huge credit for that because it demonstrates their character, it demonstrates their ability to remain composed when things were going against them, when things were going very awry and they still held together.

“What we asked for this week was a blood and guts performance and I feel strongly it was a blood and guts performance. We had fellas who had to be taken off because they’d nothing left in the tank, fellas were almost crawling into the dressing room because they gave it their all on the pitch. When you work your balls off like our boys did across the match, the harder you work the luckier you get and I think we got an element of luck today, but I think overall our team deserved a win tonight,” McNulty added.

This was Laois’ fifth game in five weekends, but McNulty referenced that the lads have been on the go since November.

“They're going since November, it's not five weeks on the trot, it's 14, 15 weeks on the trot and it's been a huge effort by the lads and it's a huge commitment and they should be proud of their effort. They should be proud of their performance because they dug deep, and they really did deliver a blood and guts performance this evening,” he commented.

Portlaoise youngster Josh Hogan started his first ever game for Laois on Saturday having been playing for The Town’s second team two years ago.

“Josh, to his credit, brings huge joy and enthusiasm and energy into our environment which rubs off on all of us. It's wonderful to see and the sky’s the limit in terms of his capacity to grow and learn and develop and become an even stronger footballer and better footballer in every facet of his game but he does offer us another dimension, no doubt about it. We've other fellas there who are coming into the squad for the first time, having been second tier players for their clubs potentially but are just showing that they've got the character to want to play and to wear the Laois jersey and wear it with distinction and when you have that, anything's possible,” McNulty said.

His opposite number Andy McEntee was irate with the officiating of the new rules stating that some rules were changed without any communication. The Laois boss says he’ll let the referees do their jobs and his job is to focus on getting results.

“I let the officials do their job, my job was focusing entirely on our performance and the performance we had tonight was what we asked for, a blood and guts performance and the lads should be proud of that,” he said.

The game looked to be fizzling out when Laois went six points in front and had a man advantage but with two-pointers, no game is ever over anymore. Antrim scored two late two-pointers but couldn’t manage to get a third to leave Portlaoise with a point.

“We should have been cruising and controlling the game out there this evening, they got one or two, two pointers and then it's all the play for and it was squeaky bum time at the end of the match so certainly the rules have livened the game up a bit. However the same principles apply, you have to work your completions, work your scores and if you don't do that you can be punished, and we were punished this evening but thankfully we got over the line through the pure endeavour of our team which they deserve enormous credit for and should be very proud of,” McNulty added.

On the injury front, it looks as if James Kelly and Benny Carroll will be fit for Laois’ next game against Clare on Saturday 15 March.

“James has a quad issue; he's making good progress and should be available for selection for the next game. Benny Carroll, hopefully likewise,” he said.

Laois now have a two-week break and sit on six points after five matches with McNulty feeling that his side are definitely in the hunt for promotion. Clare and Fermanagh are Laois’ final two league games.

“This was a high-pressure game for us and it was nervy from many perspectives in terms of performance but they still dug it out and that's huge credit to them. I think now all pressure's off, all is to play for, we're in the hunt and that's exciting. The fellas can take huge confidence from digging the game out the way in the way they did and it’s all to play for,” McNulty ended.