Justin McNulty reacts after Laois power past London in the Tailteann Cup
Laois hit 1-29 in Ruislip, but McNulty insists there is ‘lots of room for improvement’
Laois booked their place in the next stage of the Tailteann Cup after recording an emphatic 15-point victory over London in Ruislip on Saturday afternoon.
The visitors produced an impressive attacking display, finishing with 1-29, although the final scoreline perhaps did not fully reflect how competitive the contest was for long stretches.
London mounted a strong second half comeback and cut the deficit to just three points at one stage before Laois responded in style with nine unanswered points to pull clear once again.
After the game, Laois senior football manager Justin McNulty admitted his side had expected a difficult encounter from the hosts and acknowledged that London missed key opportunities at important stages.
“We came here expecting to meet a dogged, determined London team and that’s what we met. They probably let us off the hook to a certain degree with the goal chances that they missed at big moments in the game, at a time when the game was really in the melting pot. If they had put one of those goal chances away, it could have been much closer.
“Thankfully, our fellas maintained their composure, they kept working the scores and we ended up comfortable in the end. It was a business-like performance from our fellas, but lots of room for improvement. We know that we've got to get better in so many areas for the next day, otherwise we're not going to challenge in this competition,” he said.
The game was played in sweltering conditions, with temperatures hitting 28 degrees in Ruislip, something McNulty said his players had prepared for during the week.
“We knew a few days out that the weather was going to change. A week ago, we were training in Portlaoise and we were wearing woolly hats. We knew there was going to be a sun cream environment over here. We were expecting it to be hot, but not quite as hot as it is today. The lads weathered well, weathered the London storm that came and got over the line in the end,” McNulty said.
Laois eventually regained complete control after London threatened to turn the game on its head midway through the second half.
“It looked like we were in a spot of bother then, but the fellas retained their composure and kept working the scores. Maybe the scoreline does flatter us a little bit. As I said, it's a dogged, determined London team. Ruislip is a graveyard for teams, so we all anticipated a tough, tough match, and London certainly gave us that,” he added.
The visitors were particularly clinical from distance, landing four two-pointers from four different players over the course of the contest.
“Lads took their chances, other days those don't go over and it may be more difficult, so thankfully the lads got the big scores at the big times to get us clear,” McNulty commented.
Attention now turns to the next round, with Laois set to have home advantage whether they are paired with a Round 3 winner or New York.
“We have a home tie either quarter-final or a game against New York the next day. We’ll wait and see what way the draw goes on Monday,” he said.
Despite the convincing nature of the victory, McNulty stressed that his side are remaining grounded and focused on continuing their progress in the competition.
“We're getting the opportunity to play football, getting the opportunity to express ourselves, the same as every other team in the competition. We're certainly not getting carried away by today because we're the same as every other team; we're only through to the next round. That’s the reality of it.”
The Laois boss also highlighted the fierce competition for places within the squad and praised the standards being produced on the training field.
“Competition for places is massive. There are fellas here who are devastated that they didn’t get game time and justifiably so because they've shown and put their hands up in training and are wondering why we didn't put them on. We can't ask that question because there's been so much competition in training from the lads. It's been exceptional and hopefully that can keep going and push us on to bigger performance the next day,” McNulty said.
McNulty also paid tribute to the dedication and commitment being shown by his panel throughout the campaign.
“They're a great bunch of lads. County teams across the country give a huge amount of effort, a huge amount of commitment, a huge amount of energy and time and sometimes that's not rewarded, sometimes it is. You've just got to keep showing up and keep giving your best and see what happens,” he added.
The Laois manager also addressed his decision to bring Killian Roche back into the side after Matthew Byron had started the previous match against Wicklow, admitting selection has become increasingly difficult due to the strength in depth within the squad.
“It's the most competitive environment I've been involved with this Laois team for sure. In terms of the fellas putting their hands up and saying, look at me, look at me, look at me. We made a selection which could be wrong, could be right. We just had to go with our gut. Myself, Ross and Diarmuid are fighting a bit out in terms of what team we're going to start. It worked to a certain degree today and it'll be a different team the next day. It'll be determined by what fellas bring in the training environment that we go back to.
“We're really blessed to have two quality goalkeepers. They've made it really, really hard for us to make a decision every day. It'll be a tough, tough decision the next day,” he ended.