Laois Ladies eye Leinster final spot with tricky trip to Aughrim to face Wicklow

The Laois Ladies footballers will return to competitive action this Sunday, May 4, when they travel to Aughrim to take on Wicklow in the Leinster Intermediate Championship semi-final. 

It’s been over a month since Laois were last in action, a defeat to Wexford in the final round of Division 3 of the National Football League, but manager Stephen Duff is confident his side have used the five-week break wisely.

He spoke to the Leinster Express/ Laois Live ahead of the Leinster semi-final. Looking ahead to the challenge against Wicklow, who overcame Offaly in last weekend’s quarter-final, Duff says the focus has been squarely on Laois themselves rather than their opposition.

“We've had a five-week lead-in. We've reviewed the league, and obviously, we weren't happy with some parts of it, and we were happy with other parts of it. We've made our couple of changes, and we're just going to go into the game, not really focusing on anyone else, but ourselves, because we want to try and maximise the amount of performance we can get out of ourselves.

“We haven’t done that consistently in the league, so that's the way we're kind of focusing on it, and if we can do that, we're confident that we can be in a good position to get a result and secure a place in the Leinster final. But we can't overlook Wicklow because going to Wicklow, wherever it's on, will be tough, and it'll be an ambush, and it'll be made very difficult for us. If we’re not on our top game, we'll find it very difficult, but we're in a good place. We had a couple of good practice matches and a couple of good weeks of training under our belts. We're confident going into this week that we can put a performance together,” Duff said.

Reflecting on the disappointment of missing out on a league final, Duff acknowledged that Laois had been left frustrated by some results during the campaign.

“We would have liked to get to that league final. The results against Louth and Limerick were very disappointing. If we had even won one of those games, it probably would have put us into a league final. It was just disappointing in that regard, but yeah, that's life,” he added.

Since their last competitive outing, Duff and his management team have made sure the players stayed sharp and match-fit, combining county training with club action and challenge games.

“We’ve filled the time with training and games. We played games against Kildare and a couple of other teams as well, here and there. The girls spent a weekend with their clubs as well, where they got to play the first round of club league fixtures. That was a nice boost, especially for those who weren't getting games in the last couple of weeks. That was a massive help, but we've kept very busy with a lot of work done, and we're happy enough going into this week,” Duff commented.

There have been minor changes to the Laois panel since the end of the league, with two players departing through injury, but the arrival of a major addition in the form of AFLW star Jane Moore has given everyone a lift.

“Since the league concluded, Georgina Donovan has gone with an injury, and Kate Jacobs has gone with an injury, so they're the only two who have departed the panel, and Jane Moore has come into the panel. From the day she arrived back in Ireland from Australia, she's been with the panel. She has been a massive boost with her experience and her ability as a footballer.

“To have her as part of our group has been a massive, massive boost and gives us a bit more dynamism around the middle of the field as well. She’s been a massive boost for us as a footballing team, but also for the group socially to have Jane around the place,” the Laois Ladies manager said.

Duff also spoke about the boost the county has received from the Laois Minor team’s recent Leinster success, with the future looking bright.

“It was a great occasion to be at, and it's great for the girls to get that experience. The last time we won that, I don't know what year it was, but Martina Phelan was over the Minor B’s. If you look at that team that's come through, and you look at the number of players we have in our panel from that now. They're only coming through, so the likes of Alannah Brennan and Ciara Crowley. There would have been a good few on that team who have come through onto our panel.

“It's massive and we probably won't see the fruits of that for another three or four years but it's really promising. It's just really important that we retain them in the group and that we build from that. It's really important for the county that we're competing at A grades, and if we are in the B grade, that we're competitive in being one of the stronger teams in it. There are definitely some promising players there for the future,” he ended.

Laois versus Wicklow will throw-in at 2pm on Sunday, May 4. The Leinster Express/Laois Live will provide a live blog from the game in Aughrim.