McNulty is as much relieved as contented, 'the lads had a job to do and did it'

LAOIS senior footballers travelled across the Irish Sea on Saturday afternoon to face London in Round 2A of the Tailteann Cup.

Speaking after the game, Laois manager Justin McNulty was pleased with how his side responded after London had reduced the gap to just three points in the second half.

“We came here expecting to meet a dogged, determined London team and that’s what we met. They probably let us off the hook to a certain degree with the goal chances that they missed when the game was really in the melting pot. If they had put one of those goal chances away, it could have been much closer.

“Thankfully, our fellas maintained their composure, kept working the scores and we ended up comfortable in the end. It was a business-like performance from our fellas, but lots of room for improvement. We know that we've got to get better in so many areas for the next day, otherwise we're not going to challenge in this competition,” he said.

Conditions were extremely warm in Ruislip on Saturday, with temperatures reaching 28 degrees during the game.

“A week ago, we were training in Portlaoise and we were wearing woolly hats. We knew there was going to be a sun cream environment over here. We were expecting it to be hot, but not quite as hot as it is today,” McNulty said.

Laois were put under further pressure when London closed the gap to three points thanks to a goal and two quick points. However, the visitors responded impressively, kicking nine unanswered points in as many minutes.

“It looked like we were in a spot of bother then, but the fellas retained their composure and kept working the scores. Maybe the scoreline does flatter us a little bit,” he added.

Laois also struck four two-pointers from four different players. McNulty admitted that on another day, those efforts may not have gone over.

“Lads took their chances, other days those don't go over and it may be more difficult. Thankfully the lads got the big scores at the big times to get us clear,” McNulty commented.

Up next for Laois is either a home quarter-final against a Round 3 winner or a home clash with New York.

“We have a home tie, either quarter-final or a game against New York the next day. We’ll wait and see what way the draw goes on Monday,” he said.

Reflecting on the Tailteann Cup as a whole, McNulty insisted that his side are remaining grounded despite the result.

“We're getting the opportunity to play football, getting the opportunity to express ourselves, the same as every other team in the competition. We're certainly not getting carried away by today because we're only through to the next round. That’s the reality of it.”.

McNulty also spoke about the strong competition for places within the panel and praised the standards being set in training.

“Competition for places is massive. There are fellas here who are devastated that they didn’t get game time and justifiably so because they've shown and put their hands up in training and are wondering why we didn't put them on.

“There's been so much competition in training from the lads. It's been exceptional and hopefully that can keep going and push us on to bigger performance the next day,” McNulty said.

“They're a great bunch of lads. County teams across the country give a huge amount of effort, a huge amount of commitment, a huge amount of energy and time and sometimes that's not rewarded, sometimes it is. You've just got to keep showing up and keep giving your best and see what happens,” he added.

McNulty also explained his decision to restore Killian Roche in goals after Matthew Byron had Byron had started the round one match against Wicklow, saying the level of competition within the squad has made selection increasingly difficult.

“It's the most competitive environment I've been involved with this Laois team for sure. In terms of the fellas putting their hands up and saying look at me. We made a selection which could be wrong, could be right. We just had to go with our gut. Myself, Ross and Diarmuid are fighting a bit out in terms of what team we're going to start. It worked to a certain degree today and it'll be a different team the next day.

“We're really blessed to have two quality goalkeepers. They've made it really, really hard for us to make a decision every day. It'll be a tough, tough decision the next day,” he ended.