'Taking nothing for granted" - Clough Ballacolla's boss ahead of Laois hurling final three-in-a-row bid

In recent years, Clough Ballacolla has taken control over the Laois senior hurling championship and now they are one game away from completing three in a row.

But as their opponents on Sunday Camross found out back in 2018, it's a tricky objective that can often fail at the final hurdle. 

Tipperary man and manager Declan Laffen has been a key component of Clough Ballacolla's success. Under his guidance, Clough Ballacolla has become an unstoppable force in Laois Hurling. They play a purist style of hurling that's very easy on the eye. They are extremely effective in punishing opponents who make even the slightest errors.

Laffen is confident in his team's preparation but knows the importance of not taking anything for granted against a very dangerous Camross team 

“We've been preparing quite well. If we can perform to our abilities I think we will win. We do need to protect from getting complacent. We are not taking anything for granted. While the first game against Camross was comfortable they have made huge progress since. They were really impressive in the semi-final against Rathdowney," he told the Leinster Express / Laois Live.

The Tipp man was disappointed in his team's performance in the semi-final but was happy with the result. 

“ In the semi-final, Castletown gave a great account of themselves. I was a bit disappointed with our performance at certain points. I didn't think we were great in the first half and Castletown was working harder than us. We found the answers in the end and that's the main thing," he said.

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One of Laffen's concerns going into the final is a lack of a real tight battle so far in this year's championship. 

“It's a bit of a concern to me that we haven't gotten a game this year that went down to the wire. Our four games before the Leinster final last year were all high-intensity games and very tight matches. We came out on top of all of them and it built huge character within our team. We didn't have a game for five weeks before the game against Castletown. You can't replicate the intensity of a championship game in training," he said.

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The final throws in on Sunday, October 2 in MW O'Moore Park at 4pm.