'We could have crumbled, we didn’t'- Courtwood manager Mark Bates after Laois SFC County Final draw

Sunday’s Laois Senior Football Final between Portarlington and Courtwood ended in dramatic fashion, with nothing separating the sides at the final whistle. 

For Courtwood, in their first-ever county final, the performance spoke volumes, and manager Mark Bates was full of praise for his players’ attitude and resilience after twice going down to 14 men.

“Look, when you draw games, you look back and say you could have won it, could have lost it. We played 20 minutes of that game, down a man. We're very happy with the way we performed as a group and as a unit. The team is set up that way; it's not individuals, and you can see that with the way we defend, the way we attack, it's constant flows of players. When you're down a player, you obviously have to increase your workload, but ultimately, that's a game where we were four points down. We could have crumbled, we didn't, we came back, we got a goal and went a point up. Just wish we could hold on, but Port are excellent. They're very, very experienced. They’re looking to win a fifth title in the last six county championships, but they're just top class,” he said.

Courtwood’s shot conversion proved costly in the first-half, with just five scores from 18 attempts. Bates acknowledged the issue, noting that even in their earlier victories, efficiency had been a concern.

“100% and I think even games that we've won, with O’Dempsey’s we won by three and Portlaoise, we won by nine, but we're looking back on that and going, we're missing chances. But on that conversion rate, they made two superb blocks for goals in the first half. Unbelievable blocks if they don't get fingertips to those, they go in the goal, but they are the swings and roundabouts of football,” Bates said.

A key aspect of Courtwood’s strategy was targeting Portarlington’s kick-outs, something the management team had identified through analysis and worked hard to disrupt.

“When you look back on the data on Port, they had a 92% win on the breaking ball against Graigue. Any team that's 92% on the breaking ball, you have to look at that and say, can we put a dent in that? We worked on that for two weeks, and we improved ourselves in that area as well,” he said.

Despite the scale of the occasion with Courtwood competing in their first-ever Laois SFC final, Bates said he never doubted his side would deliver on the big day.

“Yeah, 100%. They're young. Tuesday night, we trained unbelievably well, and I left the pitch going, if we can bring that into Sunday, we're going to have a great chance. The key was, and I said that this morning to people who were texting me good luck, ultimately, you want your team to turn up. That's the first hurdle, and I felt if we got over that hurdle, we would be bang in the game, and ultimately that's what happened,” Bates commented.

Looking ahead to the replay on Sunday, October 26, Bates said recovery will be as much about mindset as fitness, but he believes the group’s youth and belief will stand to them.

“They're a young group, so they'll bounce out of this. I suppose the eye opener is that we know how good Portarlington are, and when you're coming into a game like this, again, an experienced team in finals, we don't have any experience like that. I suppose you have to play one to see where you're at, and I think we left here thinking we can compete with anyone. That's the mindset that we've had all year. It might not necessarily be seen outside of the group, but inside the dressing room and inside the training walls and on the pitch, we feel that we can match anyone in Laois,” he said.

Many of the current Courtwood players have tasted success at underage level with St Paul’s, and Bates believes that winning mentality, combined with the leadership in the squad, means there’s no fear in this group.

“There's no fear. Even a couple of older lads there, like Niall Donoher, is so experienced at inter-county level. He brings phenomenal leadership to the group. Sean O'Flynn, Sean O'Flynn's only 25, you’d swear he was 50. The way he behaves and he carries himself excellently. He's talking to the team; he’s the captain and he's a leader, but we have loads of leaders for a young group,” he ended.

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