Belief fuels St Paul's journey to Junior Championship final

Just a year ago, St Paul’s found themselves unable to field an Intermediate team, but this Friday night, they will take on Killeshin in the Junior Championship final, having also reached the league final earlier this season.

Ahead of the final, players Clodagh Brogan and Aoife Langford, along with John Langford, shared their thoughts at the Laois LGFA media night in the LOETB Portlaoise Institute last Friday evening.

Clodagh Brogan expressed confidence in the team's preparation, emphasising that the focus is now solely on performing well against Killeshin. “We've been training very hard and putting in the effort. There are a few areas we’ve identified for improvement. We've put our heads down and are concentrating on the big game on Friday night. If we execute what we’ve been working on, everything should go well,” she stated.

This will mark the third meeting between St Paul’s and Killeshin in 2024, with both teams having one win each in their previous encounters. Brogan noted, “We’ve played them twice before; we had them in the quarter-finals of the league and again in the group stages. We know what we need to do and are looking forward to it.”

Aoife Langford highlighted the significance of their semi-final victory over 2023 Junior finalists Portlaoise, calling it “very important.” She added, “We knew exactly how tough that game was going to be. Our main aim was to get over the line and reach the final.”

The St Paul’s centre back reflected on the team's belief in themselves, which has been crucial to their progress. “Our biggest positive is that we still believe in ourselves. Despite a couple of tough opening games and some league losses, we pushed on to the league final and now we’re in a championship final, which is very positive,” Langford said.

When asked where the game will be won or lost, John Langford responded with optimism. “Not lost. We have a positive attitude and are out to win, just like any other team. If our forwards click, they'll be hard to stop. If the two midfielders perform as they have in the last few games, positivity is the way forward,” he noted.

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St Paul’s has made a remarkable comeback this year, especially after struggling to field a team in the Intermediate grade last season. “It’s been great to rebuild the team like we did. Last year we couldn’t fill an Intermediate team, but now we’re in a championship final. Win, lose, or draw, this is positive for the club,” John added.

The team’s main aim for 2024 was simply to get a squad together, and now that goal has transformed into a championship run. “We weren’t expecting this at the start of the year. We just wanted to assemble a team and see how it goes. Once we began training and the girls returned bit by bit, we found ourselves in the league final. That gave us the motivation to carry on into the championship, and here we are now,” he said.