Laois Ladies manager Stephen Duff admits frustration as Laois beaten by Down

The Laois Ladies are still without a win in this year’s Lidl National Football League Division 3 after Down came to Heywood and left with all three points.

Laois Ladies manager Stephen Duff says the defeat is disappointing more than anything, as Laois gave Down a six-point cushion at the break, similar to what happened against Fermanagh in Round 1, but Laois were able to recover on that occasion to get a point from it. 

That wasn’t the case on Sunday, however, as the 2025 All-Ireland Intermediate finalists could only get to within one of their Ulster opponents.

“Not so much disappointing, frustrating, probably is what it is. Because again, we gave ourselves a mountain to climb, it's like we're a greyhound running after a hare. They like to chase, same as 12 months ago, this early in the year, and we need to look at ourselves and say why? That was a conversation that we had with the girls there. We have the talent, we've proved that we can get to Croke Park when it's easy, when it's nice. 

“When it's January, we don't seem to want to do it as well, so we need to look at ourselves in the mirror and say why that is. We wanted to start well today, and we didn't start well again today. We gave ourselves a six-point mountain to climb. We got back to within a point, and then they got another goal. It's our own fault; we had enough chances to win the game,” Duff said.

Duff was somewhat pleased with Laois’ scoring output, but feels it’s the defensive side of the game that’s stopping his side from getting their first league win in 2026.

“We scored enough to win that game, it's just that we're conceding too much. The amount we created as well, we had the chances to win that game. The real positive is that we're creating enough to win it. Unfortunately, the other end is where we're leaking goals and leaking scoring chances. The positive is that we're creating the chances, what we need to learn on is why we're conceding so much and why we're reactive in everything we're doing, we're not putting our front foot forward,” he said.

Speaking before the league started, Duff had said that this year’s league campaign was about getting results, but those results haven’t been forthcoming yet, and it leaves Laois going to Limerick next week knowing that a win is a must.

“We haven't got those results, and we have to look at ourselves. Because of the draw last week, we put out the most experienced team that we possibly had, minus Mo (Nerney) and Laura-Marie (Maher). There's no reason that team shouldn't be going and winning that game. It's very frustrating; we need to get results quickly. We haven't done a huge amount of football. 

“Getting to the All-Ireland Final has been hard on us in a way because we couldn't get everyone back that early. It was hard getting back, so our pre-season only really started in December, and teams are probably a month ahead of us. It's not an excuse, but it's difficult. We just need to get results somewhere along the line. Limerick next week has to be our full focus, and going down to UL is going to be tough,” the Laois Ladies manager said.

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Sunday saw the return of Park-Ratheniska’s Anna Healy, who had been away travelling for the last few years. Duff is delighted to have Healy back on the scene. He also gave an update on the status of Laura-Marie Maher and Mo Nerney. His final line would suggest that we won’t see the return of the Moore sisters, Jane and Anna.

“It's great to have Anna back, she’s a real heart on her sleeves type of player. She gives you everything and has experience. We just need her to settle into the group now. It's hard for a new person to come into the group that’s been together for two or three years. Laura-Marie will be back with us in a couple of weeks, and Mo will be back too. As of now, that's it. We're concerned about what we have, not concerned about what we don't have,” he concluded.