Title was the target from day one, says O’Connell

ST Conleth’s manager Mick O’Connell said reclaiming the Laois LGFA Senior Championship title was the aim from the moment his players returned after last year’s heartbreaking final defeat to Portlaoise.

St Conleth’s produced a dominant display against St Joseph’s at Laois Hire O’Moore Park on Saturday evening, racing into a commanding lead before going on to secure the Lulu Carroll Cup.

Having lost last year’s decider to Portlaoise, O’Connell said there was a determination within the group to put that disappointment right this year.

“That was the aim at the start of the year, when I got the bunch of girls together. They were hurt after last year and they knew they were good enough to win it. That was the aim at the start of the year: to get our hands back on the cup.” St Conleth’s made the perfect start to the final, opening up a 3-4 to no-score advantage after 25 minutes.

It was a start that O’Connell and his management team had planned for, with the intensity shown by the players in training in recent weeks paying off on the biggest stage.

“Well, we could imagine it because we'd been working on it all week. We wanted to score early and hurt them early and that's exactly what we did. The intensity of our girls in the last 5-6 weeks of training, since we beat Portlaoise, since we beat Timahoe and now St Joseph's. The intensity down there has been second to none. We knew we were better than we were early on in the Championship and that came to fruition today.” Despite holding a 12-point advantage at half-time, O’Connell was keen to ensure his players did not become complacent.

“The message at halftime was it's nil-nil. In the second half of our last match against them, they wiped out an eight-point lead straight away. In five minutes, they had it wiped out. So we said it's nil-nil, let's keep doing what we're doing and keep it tight, keep the structure at the back and we kept it. We’re happy.” 

St Conleth’s will now represent Laois in the Leinster Club Championship, although O’Connell admitted that provincial matters were not yet on his radar as the players prepared to celebrate their county final success.

“I haven't looked beyond today, to be honest. We'll get a few celebrations done today, tomorrow, possibly Monday. We might go back to training Wednesday or Thursday, maybe and we'll see. I don't even know when we're playing.” For O’Connell, who took charge of the side this year, the response of the players following last year’s defeat has been a major part of their success.

He said the arrival of younger players, coupled with a successful league campaign, helped provide fresh momentum ahead of the Championship.

“They came back and we had a meeting. I was new in this year; I didn't know the girls at the start of the year so it was easy for me. I asked what I wanted out of them and they gave me everything I asked. They came in; we had new young blood come in. Young girls played throughout the league, played very well and we won the league. That was great, a boost going into the Championship. I don’t think we've ever done a Championship and league double, so that was brilliant.”