Laois brace for Steven Poacher’s young guns in rescheduled clash against Leitrim

The Laois footballers will travel to Ballinamore this Saturday looking to bounce back from their opening-round defeat where they’ll face a Leitrim side just as determined to respond after a heavy loss to Clare.

Both teams began their Allianz NFL Division 3 campaigns with setbacks, Laois falling to Offaly, while Leitrim endured a 2-17 to 0-10 defeat in Ennis. Now, the two sides will finally meet after their originally scheduled clash on January 25 was postponed due to Storm Éowyn, which left Ballinamore without power.

Speaking to John Connolly of the Leitrim Observer after the Clare game, Leitrim manager Steven Poacher has called on the Leitrim supporters to turn out in force, urging them to lift his youthful side for what he sees as a 'big, big game'.

“Hopefully, Ballinamore will have a lot of Leitrim people in it, getting behind these bunch of young, fine men,” Poacher said. “I’m proud of every one of them because they’re a good bunch of lads.”

Poacher admitted his team struggled with Clare’s physicality last weekend, noting that many of his players are only starting out on their strength and conditioning journey.

“They're probably year one or year zero, as I would call it, in an S&C programme. That takes time. It doesn't happen overnight,” he said. “We know this year is going to be difficult, but we want to be competitive.”

Laois, under Justin McNulty, will be equally eager to get their season on track after falling to Offaly. While Leitrim look to their home support for inspiration, Laois will hope to make their experience count and silence the crowd early. With both teams searching for their first points of the campaign, Saturday’s showdown now carries even greater significance.

Leitrim and Laois will throw-in at 2.30pm in Ballinamore on Saturday, February 8.