McNulty full of praise for his side’s ability to bounce back from defeat

The Laois senior footballers travelled to Newry on Sunday afternoon to face Down in the final game of this year’s Division 3 league campaign.

Laois came out on top by four points after a topsy-turvy contest. They led by four at the break, but by the 50th minute, Down had surged into a six-point advantage. Laois responded impressively, scoring 1-6 between the 56th and 67th minutes to inflict a first loss on Down, who still finished top of Division 3.

Laois manager Justin McNulty was full of praise for his side’s ability to bounce back from their defeat to Fermanagh the previous weekend, as well as their resilience in recovering from trailing by six points with 20 minutes to play, having led for much of the game.

“The lads deserve enormous credit for their performance. A bit of a hammer blow last week. We knew we didn't do ourselves justice in terms of the overall performance. To have dug that out today, away to the league leaders, who were undefeated, the guys deserve enormous credit for that. We do realise that Down were a little bit half-cocked. Maybe an eye on the league final, an eye on the first round of the championship. It may have been used as a warm-up game for them, so we're not getting carried away.

“There are huge learnings from the game, huge positives to be taken by the group. Down looked to be getting control in the second half, a series of scores, which put them six ahead, so our boys could have downed tools. They regrouped, regained their composure, and started winning kick-outs. They won big scores, got big scores, worked big scores and left a few scores on the table as well. Down probably did as well, so they evened each other out. But listen, overall, a performance the players can be proud of, and they deserve enormous credit for the performance they delivered today,” McNulty said.

The man of the match on Sunday was an easy pick, as Paul Kingston came on at half-time and finished with 2-3 to his name. His second goal was an outrageous finish, and it proved to be the score that put Laois back in front. McNulty admitted that Kingston has certainly put his hand up for a starting place for the Offaly game in three weeks’ time.

“Nobody saw it, only he saw it. It was, wow, what a finish. Not alone the goal, but a big, big moment in the game. That was the pivotal point of the game. Paul deserves credit for that and for staying going, putting his hand up and putting himself in terms of the mix for selection. That's credit to him,” he said.

The Laois manager also highlighted the contribution of those who didn’t feature, praising the role they play in driving standards in training.

“It's a team performance, and the team was the winner today. The team and the squad and the group, because there are fellas here who travelled today who haven't got any game time, but they keep knuckling down week in, week out in training and making our training sessions competitive. They deserve as much credit for that performance as the boys who started and the boys who came in, because that's what this is about, the squad. We can build on that towards the first round of the Leinster championship away to Offaly. That's going to be no easy feat, and we know we've got to be on our game that day. We’ll use this as a building block towards that,” McNulty said.

Laois now have three weeks to prepare for their trip to Tullamore to face Offaly in the first round of the Leinster Championship. When asked if players would be allowed to line out for their clubs in the meantime, McNulty was firm, explaining that the squad will get a week off before returning for a training camp ahead of the game on Saturday, April 11.

“No, this is a reset week. The boys will get a bit of time to recover mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Next weekend, we're in camp, and we're getting geared up for Offaly,” the Laois manager said.

Offaly will come into that game on the back of seven consecutive defeats, having been relegated to Division 3. However, McNulty insists their league form will count for little in three weeks’ time.

“A derby game, it means nothing. It's all about the championship, and the championship is a different beast than the league,” McNulty concluded.