'It’s all on the line now next Saturday evening'- Laois' Tommy Fitzgerald after Carlow loss

The Laois senior hurlers were left reflecting on a disappointing start to their Joe McDonagh Cup campaign after a nine-point defeat to Carlow in Netwatch Cullen Park on Saturday evening.

Speaking in the immediate aftermath, Laois manager Tommy Fitzgerald admitted both the result and performance fell well below what had been expected following months of preparation.

“It wasn't the result or performance that we were preparing for over the last six months. We looked very jittery in the first half, I thought. The stats team were telling us that we had 13 unforced errors, handling errors, and spilling the ball. Decision-making was poor. You can do all the training in the world, and the first round of the championship is probably a different animal. We were poor in that first half. Started the second half well to bring it back to level, and the momentum kind of swung back then again,” he said.

Laois found themselves seven points adrift at the half-time, 2-9 to 0-8, but responded strongly after the restart, battling back to level matters, 1-12 to 2-9, with only 10 minutes of the half played. However, that resurgence proved short-lived as they managed just five further points before the final whistle.

“That's it in a nutshell, yeah. It's immediately after the game so, obviously, we haven’t looked back at it, and there's just bitter disappointment in there and everybody's hurting now. It's tough immediately after a game now to process it,” Fitzgerald said.

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Carlow’s clinical edge in front of goal proved a major difference between the sides, and Fitzgerald acknowledged that some of those scores will require closer inspection.

“They have good inside forwards, but there's probably one or two of them we probably didn't help ourselves with now, to be honest. So, again, that’s from memory, looking back at it live, so we'll have to look at the video again,” he added.

Laois also struggled with their use of possession at times, and Fitzgerald suggested that the standard of opposition faced during Laois' Division 2-winning campaign may have had an influence, while also accepting his side’s own shortcomings.

“That's just the reality. I don't know, maybe playing Division 2 hurling, it is a lower standard. There's no doubt about that. I thought Carlow were decent today, but again, we didn't help ourselves. We're very disappointed with how we performed,” the Laois manager said.

Attention now quickly turns to a crucial encounter with Antrim next weekend.

“It was always the way it was. You had to win at least one of the first two games, and that's the message for our own lads. We can't feel sorry for ourselves now. We're going to have to reset very quickly. It's all on the line now next Saturday evening,” he said.

Despite the setback, Fitzgerald was keen to highlight the commitment of his panel and called on supporters to remain firmly behind the team heading into the next game.

“I've looked at more games and whatever else. We're aware of where our strengths are, and we're also aware of where our work-ons are. They're good lads, they come in every evening, and they give us their all. It's really, really important for the Laois hurling public as well. We have to get behind these lads next week. We can't go into a blame game or go into our shells. Everyone's disappointed. Nobody went out to get that result or that performance today. These are good lads, and they really love playing for Laois. They care about the jerseys. They know that they let themselves down today, and as a group, we did in terms of performance levels. We need to all pull together now because it's all on the line next Saturday,” Fitzgerald said.

While opportunities were created, Laois were unable to convert enough of them, something reflected in their shooting accuracy.

“There were a lot of wides in the first half as well. I think we were 38% from play with our shooting, which again isn't good enough at this level,” he said.

Although Carlow competed at a higher level during the league, Fitzgerald believes the gap between the sides should not have been as wide. He called on his players to react in the best way possible, and that is with a win against Antrim.

“They were missing a good few players in the league, and they got them all back this evening. We knew that, we knew who they had and who they didn't have. They had everyone back this evening; they're a decent team. There shouldn't be nine points between us; it's as simple as that, and we know that. You just have to take it; it's a sucker punch. There are two ways you can react. You can go into your shell and feel sorry for yourself, but we just have to come back and react the right way next week because there's too much that's gone into us now just to not do so,” he commented.

Fitzgerald also acknowledged the disappointment felt beyond the dressing room, particularly among supporters who had travelled to the game.

“I'm sure there are so many people gone home this evening disappointed. Jesus, I'll be a Laois supporter all my life. I won't be in this role all my life, I tell you. I'd be the same as them. We all care about Laois, we all want the same thing. We're still in this competition. Look at the last two years, the last two winners lost their first-round games. We just have to bloody react the right way now and stick together, stay united, and just give an almighty performance next Saturday,” he said.

He also provided an update on injuries, with concern surrounding Lee Cleere and a likely prolonged absence for Cody Comerford.

Lee is a bit of a worry. We'll know in the morning. It's going to be hard to see Cody come back for the Joe McDonagh. Great lad, he just does everything the right way. He's probably gone to a different level in terms of his game this year and everything else. That's just the nature of hurling, I suppose. In top-level sports, you're going to lose lads to injury along the way,” he said.

Fitzgerald concluded by praising Clough/Ballacolla's Stephen ‘Picky’ Maher, who made his first championship appearance in almost two years after coming on at half-time. He scored four of Laois' nine points in the second half.

“He did well. He was just probably lacking a bit of match sharpness and fitness, really, more than anything. Picky is pure quality. We're probably a better team when he is on the pitch, no doubt about that,” Fitzgerald concluded.