'We like making hard work of it and keeping the crowd entertained'- Laois Ladies' Mo Nerney

Mo Nerney was full of praise for her Laois teammates after they came through a dramatic extra-time battle with Wexford to secure a place in the All-Ireland semi-finals.

The Timahoe forward hit eight points in total, including five during extra-time, as Laois edged a gripping contest 1-17 to 2-12 in front of a home crowd in Portlaoise on Sunday.

Reflecting on the game, Nerney admitted that Laois made life difficult for themselves, but believes grinding out a result in such a manner will serve them well heading into the semi-final.

"We like making hard work of it and keeping the crowd entertained, but we just dug deep at the end. I think the second half of normal time, we just didn't perform at times, and Wexford came back in and credit to them. We came in then after the break, and extra time is 2 blocks of 20, give it 10 and give it the next 10.

"We went ahead by 2 or 3 points at the start of it, but Wexford dug deep. We had gone 4 points up, Wexford got a great goal, and they came back into it. But we just kept chipping away. We knew it was there in the legs. I think that's what this whole team is about: heart, determination, getting back, just getting that block in. Clodagh Dunne made a super block in the second-half and got possession, that's what it's about. So we got over the line, thank God, and I think it’ll stand to us going into the semi-final," she said.

Laois now face Monaghan in the All-Ireland semi-final on Sunday, July 13 in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park, and Nerney insists there’ll be no looking past the challenge ahead.

"It will stand to us, but look, we won't look past Monaghan. There's no way we can do that. It's going to be all about Monaghan for the next two weeks. We'll enjoy today and regroup for Wednesday night's training. Going to play a northern team is always going to be tough. It's an All-Ireland semi-final, that's what it's about. If you're not up for it, you won't win it. It's all to play for, so yeah, looking forward to it," she said.

With so many key moments in a game that swung back and forth, Nerney praised the leadership shown by Laois’ experienced players, and was quick to highlight the efforts of some of the unsung heroes too.

"Absolutely not, you cannot buy that. Eimear (Barry) had, I don’t know how many, unbelievable saves in the second half; she kept us in it. But like that, the girls of experience that have come back to us, Emma Lawlor and Eva Galvin, were just unbelievable. Jane in midfield and Anna as well. Like, look, all over the field, Ciara Crowley, Shifra Havill. They are two girls on the wing that may not get the credit they deserve because they're back and they're up and down. It's like that, it's just hard work, and that's the enjoyment of it. You know what I mean? You don't want to go and be winning 10 or 15 pints in one sense. Like, you want to have tight games, championship football, but I suppose we did make it hard on ourselves, but we got over the line," she said.

One of the turning points came late in normal time, when substitute Lauren Kearney kicked a superb equaliser under pressure. Nerney said Kearney’s impact showed the depth of quality in the Laois panel.

"Lauren stood up there with two unbelievable points at the end of the second half and in extra time. It's players like that that you need; she's making darting runs through. You could probably say she's very unlucky not to be starting, but she's an unbelievable impact sub. And look, that's what we needed today. I suppose maybe I thought that at the end of the first 60 minutes, we rushed a few shots. We knew we had time, and we probably were rushing them, but it came down to that last kick and thank God it went over," she said.

With the semi-final looming, Nerney finished by stressing the importance of recovery and preparation over the coming fortnight.

"Everyone seems to be in good form after today. It's recovery now. It's building for Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday, then we’ll look at the week of Monaghan," she ended.

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