‘The Lads Are Devastated’ – Delaney on Laois U/20’s loss

LAOIS Under-20 hurling manager Derek Delaney did not hide his disappointment following his side’s Leinster Championship exit at the hands of a dominant Wexford outfit, conceding that his team were second best across the field.

In a frank and honest assessment after the final whistle, Delaney admitted Laois had no answer to Wexford’s intensity and quality on the day.

“Where do I start really, Wexford were by far the better team and deserved the win, they were very powerful and physical and ultimately, they had our measure on the day and showed their class.

“They penalised every mistake we made and for the most part were clinical in front of the goals in the first half when the game was there. There is not much to be said other than that we were totally outplayed by a very good Wexford team.”.

The defeat marked a painful end to the campaign for a Laois side that had shown promise in earlier rounds, and Delaney revealed the emotional toll it has taken on his players.

“The lads are devastated the way to have exited the way they have put in so much effort all year, they are devastated. There is no more to be said.”.

Despite the heavy loss, the Laois boss was keen to highlight the broader context of the season, pointing to the transition within the squad and the positives that can be taken moving forward.

“The season hasn’t gone all bad, there is plenty of positives to pick out from the season, it was probably not evident from the game today but there definitely are positives there is talented players definitely wearing a Laois jersey today.

We lost 12 from last year’s team, we built a whole new team this year so it does take time,” he said.

Laois had shown their competitiveness earlier in the campaign, pushing some of the province’s stronger sides and picking up valuable results along the way.

“Anyone watching closely we ran Offaly to the pin of their collar, we also ran Dublin close, we beat a very good Meath team. It just wasn’t to be for us today but look we definitely have loads to work on for the future,” said Delaney.

The manager also stressed the importance of using this difficult experience as a stepping stone for the players’ development, particularly as they look toward senior level in the coming years.

“It’s massively important for these lads to use the experience of a tough year to progress to senior level, they definitely can do it.

“There was a lot of learning from the game today. It’s not the time to talk about it today, there is loads of learnings, but they are good lads so they will.”.

Looking ahead, the manager acknowledged that improvements will be needed across several areas if Laois are to close the gap on the top teams.

“Looking ahead we definitely need to be fitter, stronger, the hurling needs to be sharper, we need to be more composed on the ball but that will all come together and today isn’t the time to reflect on it too much.

“There will be a time for that and I’m sure we will do it to the best of our ability.”