Stephen Duff hails Laois Ladies grit after extra-time thriller seals All-Ireland semi-final spot

Laois Ladies manager Stephen Duff paid tribute to the fighting spirit of his players after they emerged victorious from a dramatic TG4 All-Ireland quarter-final against Wexford at Laois Hire O’Moore Park.

After a pulsating contest that went to extra-time, Laois triumphed 1-17 to 2-12 to secure their place in the last four.

Speaking after the game, Duff was full of praise for his side’s resilience and determination to battle through testing moments.

“I think that word grind is exactly what it was. The theme of the week for the group was that we wanted to get into battles and win as many of them as we could. We didn't want to get into 100 and only win 30, we wanted to try and win 300 battles, so we said we were going to go and get into 700 battles this week and try and find it, and we did."

Laois looked to have momentum going into half-time, but a second-half goal reignited Wexford and pushed the contest to the wire.

“Credit to Wexford, like Jesus Christ, we thought at half-time we were in a position where we could push on, they got that goal and it really lifted them. We dropped shockingly deep for some reason, I don't know why, it was like almost conserving the lead, and I suppose in a high-adrenaline game that happens, but then we came alive again in the extra time and pushed on again.”

“Credit to the girls, there's nothing more to bond that group together, and there's nothing more the Laois Ladies needed. We said it, we'll give everyone a bandwagon to jump on, and we'll give you another two weeks of it anyway.”

While Laois emerged with the win, Duff was quick to acknowledge that his side’s finishing left room for improvement.

“We got in on goal in that first half and didn't take our chances, and it happened a couple of times in the last couple of weeks, and probably didn't cost us as much in the last couple of weeks, and nearly cost us today."

“We need to hold ourselves to a higher standard of efficiency when we're shooting, because days like today, it could cost you and it could cost us the next day out. But look, we're getting into positions, we'd be more worried if we weren't getting into positions."

“Wexford are hard to play against, they play very deep, and it's not something that our girls have been good at. Losing Ciara Burke in the lead-up to this, she's someone who would have thrived in a game like this. Eva Galvin came in for her, and her power and pace are a different type of threat."

“Our efficiency is something we're disappointed with. The way we dropped off at times too, plus twos, plus threes at times, which is not our principle. But we got a result, and that's Championship football. It's July and we're still playing.”

Duff also reserved praise for his defence and goalkeeper, who stood strong under serious late pressure.

“Eimear is class. I don't think she was supposed to be out there. I saw Aishling Fitz rubbing something onto Eimear's back in extra-time, and I was like, is this running repairs or are we actually buckled?"

“But everyone stood up. Anna Moore got a turnover there at the end of the game. Clodagh got a couple of block downs. It wasn't a perfect performance, but there was real grit in it."

“They got three or four chances towards the end to level it or go ahead. We didn't buckle, and that shows an awful lot of what we've done with the group. It hasn't been a straightforward year; it's been up and down, so we've probably learned an awful lot from the down pieces, and we're ready to go again.”

Among the game’s defining moments was Lauren Kearney’s late equaliser at the end of normal time to force extra-time, with Duff highlighting the impact of his substitutes.

“Kearney is different to everyone else, her world is different to everybody else's. Look, she's probably disappointed not to be in the starting team, and she’s every right to be because she's going very well."

“But the impact that she gives in the last 20 minutes, imagine you were chasing around Eva Galvin, Fiona Dooley and Jane Moore for 40 minutes, and then you see Lauren Kearney come on. God love you, it’s not going to be easy."

“She can be disappointed not to be starting, but it’s what she gives off the bench that’s phenomenal. If she keeps having impacts like that, she’s going to keep making my decisions very, very hard.”

It was in extra-time that Laois found another gear, with Mo Nerney producing a vital five-point haul to finally shake off Wexford’s challenge.

“Brilliant all round, but look, Mo got a couple of scores there, and she wasn’t really in the game in normal time. Then she came into the game in extra time when we needed big players, big scores, and we got them. Emma Lawlor had some great scores as well. Everyone stood up, everyone had bad moments, and everyone had good moments."

“It’s hard to single people out, but what a really great team collective performance. You look at the young ones like Faye McEvoy, Aishling Fitz and Emily Lacey, this is the biggest day they’ve had in a Laois jersey. A lot of the girls weren’t involved in 2022. So now they can say, ‘I was there in 2025 and we went to extra-time against Wexford.’ That will stand to us now against Monaghan.”

The return of experienced figures Jane Moore, Clodagh Dunne, and Mary Cotter has also strengthened the panel at a crucial time, and Duff praised how they’ve reintegrated into the group.

“Jane came back in halfway through the year, same with Clodagh, same with Mary, all three played a part today. That’s not an easy thing to do when you’ve got 36 girls who’ve been working hard all year. Everyone knows the class they bring. I thought the three girls handled it exceptionally well. Only Jane played in the Leinster final; we said it was the right thing to do to let the girls who were there take that. Once it was over, the gloves were off, and everyone was fighting for positions."

“We pick on performance, and now Mary is giving us a headache because she played very well in extra-time. It’s a credit to the girls who came in and the rest of the group for taking them in. That’s not easy to manage.”

He also singled out midfielder Fiona Dooley for her leadership and consistency, suggesting she’s one of the best players in the country right now.

“I think if Fiona stays going the way she is, she could be in line for an All-Star. I’ve said this to Fiona since I met her in 2020, and my hairline’s gone back because of Fiona Dooley. But she has the potential to be a Jennifer Dunne type of character. She’s big, strong, kicks scores, fast, can defend, and she’s an all-around footballer. She deserves a lot of credit."

“Then you have the younger girls too, Ciara Crowley, Faye McEvoy, Shifra Havill, Sinead Farrelly, still very young. We’re building a group for the future. Yes, we have a few stragglers, older girls who won’t like me saying that, but they’re so important. They keep the girls level-headed and we’ll go again in two weeks.”

With an All-Ireland semi-final against Monaghan now on the horizon, Duff believes the drama of this win can galvanise his side heading into the final stages of the championship.

“It will, of course, stand to us. There’s no better bonding, if you put it in inverted commas, than something like that. Everyone’s gone to the well and stayed battling. We now know that we can come from behind, we can stay ahead, and those little moments build belief. We’ve a lot to work on, Jesus Christ, we do, but that’s the joy of getting to a semi-final. Still having stuff to fix, still having a stick to beat them with. I said it at half-time in extra-time, who expected me to be the calmest person in the whole place? But we trusted them. We said we had the work done already, so let it happen.”

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