'Form kind of goes out the window'- Laois' Killian Roche looks forward to Offaly game in Tullamore

The Laois senior footballers are currently preparing to take on Offaly in the first round of this year’s Leinster Football Championship.

The neighbouring counties will meet in Glenisk O’Connor Park in Tullamore on Saturday evening, April 11, with throw-in at 6pm. It’s the second time in three years that the sides have met in the Leinster Championship, with Offaly getting the better of Laois in a quarter-final in Portlaoise in 2024.

Speaking to the Leinster Express/ Laois Live ahead of the game, goalkeeper Killian Roche began by assessing Laois’ Allianz Football League Division 3 campaign.

“A small bit up and down, really, maybe a slight sense of frustration in a way, but plenty of positives too. We probably had a slow start, maybe against Limerick, where we probably could have won the game, and also could have lost it. We had a very poor outing against Wexford, and that kind of put us on the back foot. As you know yourself, you probably need to get points on the board early in Division 3.

“We probably had a good middle stint there, we got three good performances against Sligo, Clare and Westmeath. We didn't get the result we wanted against Clare, but I felt that we were on the right track there. Our inconsistency showed then again against Fermanagh, where we had another poor performance, and it ultimately cost us a place in the race for promotion.

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“We got the show back on the road against Down, a small bit. A small sense of frustration, but there are plenty of positives to take from it, too. We finished two places higher than we did last year, and accumulated more points as well. We can look at it that way, and we'll take plenty of positives from it going into Saturday week,” Roche said.

Laois were competitive in six of their seven league games, with the exception being a 14-point defeat to Wexford. The Yellowbellies went on to secure promotion to Division 2, and Roche admitted it was a tough defeat to take.

“Especially after the last couple of years, where we definitely would have been a lot more competitive with Wexford and were probably on the right side of the results there. It was a sickening one to take, to be honest with you, but that's just the nature of the league. If your performance levels are not where they need to be, you're going to get caught out, especially in that division. It's a competitive division because everyone wants to get out of there and get up to Division 2. Look, fair dues to Wexford on the day, they got it right, and they got it right throughout the league in fairness to go up,” he said.

The role of a goalkeeper has evolved in recent years, with keepers now far more involved in general play. For some of Laois’ attacks, Roche operates as the 11th man in the 11v11, pushing upfield while a teammate drops back to ensure there are always four players in their own half. Whether he advances or not is decided on a play-by-play basis.

“There's nothing really set in stone with it. You probably don't get up as much as you did before the rule changed halfway through the league last year. Generally, if you’re up there, you're on the halfway line, probably talking and maybe dictating a small bit on set plays and things like that as much as you can.

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“If the opportunity arises where someone maybe just feels like they need a break, or if maybe there's an overload on one side of the pitch and someone can slip back on the other side, that's the kind of way you work it. There's nothing really set in stone; you just have to play what you see with it. You probably don't get up as much as you used to anyway, but that's just the way it's gone,” Roche confirmed.

A major talking point from the 2026 National Football League has been kick-outs, particularly around securing primary possession from restarts.

“It's the same for every keeper in the country, but it has changed, of course. The short ones aren't as glaringly obvious as they used to be. There's obviously a lot less space, but there's probably still an opportunity to get the ball away quickly or to get the ball mid-range and keep it away from the contest. Teams are getting obviously better, and as the year progresses with the new rules, teams will get a lot better at pressing kick-outs as well, so it will probably become more difficult.

“It's the same across the board; the majority of teams are just going long for the contest now. There are probably very few that are trying to get them away from the contest, but that's just the way it's gone. You have to back your lads out there as well in the contest and maybe pick out the best viable option, maybe across the line, maybe if an overload has formed, is it the best option to go there, or might there be a one-on-one somewhere else that you might have to go to as well? It’s a lot tougher, and there’s a lot more thinking to it compared to back in the day, when it was just boom it long, but there is maybe a bit more strategic thinking,” Roche said.

Winning the midfield battle is often decisive, and the momentum gained from securing possession from kick-outs can be difficult to halt.

“It's massive now, the momentum. If you can't get your hands on the ball, possession is still nine-tenths of the law, whatever way you’re losing it, but the kick-out is obviously a big one. Even the Down game there, we were four points up at half-time, and they had a ten-point swing and went six points up, and they completely got on top of our kick-out.

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“It's very hard to stop the rot, but you just have to keep trying your best at it, try something new, or be able to go away from the overload or the long one that day. Then we had to try forcing them short, maybe a small bit, to get our hands on more ball. You have to adjust, because if you keep doing the same thing over and over again, you're going to get the same result more than likely. You just have to adjust on your feet. It probably is that bit more difficult, because there aren't that many more short options on, and teams are good at that press, but that's just the way it is. You just have to roll with it, really,” the Laois goalkeeper said.

Looking ahead to the game in Tullamore, Roche said that Offaly’s league form may not be a true reflection of their championship potential, despite their winless Division 2 campaign.

“100 per cent, form kind of goes out the window in these types of games. Championship football has a completely different feel to it. In the league, even though there’s only a couple of weeks celebrating it, but even the days are longer, the evenings are longer, the ball gets a bit lighter, so it's a completely different ball game. There's going to be no stone unturned in preparation, and it's going to be the biggest 50-50 game you'll see. It’s one we’re looking forward to though at the same time,” he said.

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Roche also confirmed that Laois held a recent training camp, with preparations now ramping up ahead of their Leinster Championship opener.

“We were in there at the weekend on a two-day thing as well, so we got a good bank of work done there. Again, it's kind of all systems go; you’re only on a two-week lead-in. The intensity is ramping up big time compared to the league. The evenings are getting that bit longer, and there’s a small bit of a different feel to it. Everything just goes up another couple of per cent as well, leading into the Championship,” Roche concluded.