Stephen Duff reflects on a ‘point gained or point lost’ after Laois Ladies draw with Fermanagh

The Laois Ladies opened their Division 3 league campaign with a hard-earned draw against Fermanagh at Heywood Community School. The contest swung back and forth throughout, with Laois recovering from a six-point deficit at one stage and later establishing a lead of their own.

Speaking after the final whistle, manager Stephen Duff weighed up whether the outcome felt like a point gained or one that slipped away. 

“10 minutes into the second half, it looked like it was a point gained, but the position we got ourselves into, it was probably a point lost. It’s better than this time last year, when we had lost by 15 or 16 points. I'm relatively happy in some areas of the field. I thought in the first quarter and the fourth quarter were really passive in defence. They got too many scoring chances inside our scoring zone, pobably could have been better in that regard. I was really pleased with the chances we created in the second half. We haven’t a huge amount of football done, we've been focusing a lot on S&C in the last couple of weeks. So it showed that chances were created. For Mia Brannigan to score two goals on her debut was brilliant, I'm delighted for her. Loads to work on, loads to be happy about, but plenty to improve,” he said.

Duff also addressed the impact of the recently introduced LGFA rule changes, explaining that they did not significantly alter Laois’ tactical approach on the day.

“The new rules, tactically, I don't find a huge amount of difference because we were playing three or four up anyway, depending on if Eva (Galvin) is on the field, we usually have four up. So it wasn't affecting us tactically that way. We got blown for a breach in the second half, which is disappointing. It was criminal, really, for the amount of time we had to fix it, but that's fine,” Duff added.

While accepting that the rules are still bedding in, the Laois boss expressed concern about how consistently they are being interpreted.

“With the new rules, I'd seriously question whether referees are refereeing the new rules or just letting everything go because there are pushes in the backs now being allowed, and there's jostling and all sorts being allowed. I think the rule is that you must tackle the ball, so I don't think there's a huge amount of difference. If you make contact while tackling the ball, that's fine, but I'm seeing pushes in the back, and I'm seeing everything going on. It turns into a bit of a free-for-all. I don't blame the referees. I think the wording of the rule is difficult. It's difficult to know what's on the ball and what's not on the ball. What can they see? Especially down at Division 3, where you may not have a linesman or you may not have an umpire. It's hard to see what's on the ball and what's not on the ball. It's learning for everyone and learning for referees. I would question what referees are actually refereeing. I think if you ask them yourself, they’re finding it difficult,” he said.

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The match also served as an opportunity for several new faces to gain valuable senior experience, something Duff highlighted as a key objective for the outing.

“We got loads of them runs there today, and that's what today was about for us. It was getting a look at these new girls as well as trying to make sure we got a result, which we weren’t far away from. There are loads of new girls there, Aishling Saunders had a super game on Joanne Doonan. Mia Branigan came into the group, Kelly O'Neil is there, and Sarah Larkin got a start. There are loads of new girls there getting games, and Ciara Byrne came on in the second half as a new player as well. It's great to have her contributing to football when she's so strong at basketball, too.

“We're delighted with the new girls. We still have Anna Healy, Laura Marie Maher, Eva Galvin and Emma Lawlor to come back into that team, and Eimear Barry as well. We're in a strong position. It's just about getting the rest of our group up to a level where we can compete too, so, we can't depend on any player,” Duff concluded.

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