'It’s a work in progress and it’s only February'- Laois hurling manager Willie Maher
Laois made it two wins from two with an eight-point defeat of Kildare
The Laois hurlers cemented their place at the top of Division 2A with an eight-point victory over Kildare on Sunday. Laois boss Willie Maher spoke to the media following the contest.
“We knew it was going to be competitive coming up and Kildare were the form team in this division this time last year. We’re after getting out of here with an eight-point victory and I think it’s great work and we’re working towards the next day,” Maher said.
Laois were a bit lacklustre in the opener against Down, a team that they had beaten by 31-points in 2023 with Maher saying he saw improvements against Kildare.
“It was a bit livelier and we were a bit more comfortable than last week. We played very well for the first 15 minutes of the second-half and then our performance levels dropped again but we finished strong. So look it’s a work in progress and it’s only February and we have four points in the first two league games and we’ll move on to the next game,” he said.
The home side were on top in the first-half with Laois trailing for the majority of the first period.
“Kildare were well worth their 14 points in the first-half. Their shooting was very good, I think they only missed two shots in the first-half whereas we missed a few more. They’re a good team and as I said they were the form team in this division this time last year so look we’re happy to get away with an eight-point victory,” he said.
Kildare's Jack Sheridan had a superb game for the Lilywhites as he racked up 1-13 with seven frees. Maher was impressed by the Kildare forward but says it's something Laois need to prevent going forward.
“He scored 1-6 from play and he was really good, he got a great goal at the end. It’s something we need to work on but again we have two weeks now to look forward to Carlow and the job was to get four points in the first two games which we have done so we’re content,” Maher said.
Laois have introduced a lot of fresh young faces with several U-20 stars making the step up to Senior level. David Dooley had a superb game for Laois at centre-forward with his manager singing his praises.
“David was excellent in the first 15 minutes of the second-half and he got on six or seven plays. He’s a great player as are the rest of the lads, the younger lads are really showing us the quality of players that they are so that’s very encouraging. We’ve used a big spread of players, I’m not sure of the exact number over the last two games so a lot of lads are getting game time. The next two weeks will decide who plays for Carlow and that’s the competitive environment that we want to develop here in Laois,” he said.
Laois are competing in Division 2 for the first time since 2013 and Maher feels that the team is in a better place because they're not getting hammered every week by the bigger counties in Division 1.
“I suppose I’ll tell you that in a couple of weeks time and we’ll know. This time last year, we had Tipperary and Kilkenny played and they were two big beatings so it was very difficult to get up. The McDonagh champions are coming to Portlaoise in two weeks so that’s our big focus now and if we win that by eight I’ll be very happy,” Maher said.
Two of Laois' opponents in the Joe McDonagh Cup are playing in Division 1 in the form of Offaly and Westmeath. Offaly probably should have beaten Wexford on Saturday night but managed to get a point while Westmeath pushed All-Ireland champions Limerick all the way and had led by two points in the 54th minute but lost out by six in the end.
“Offaly were exceptional last night against Wexford, who had played well against Kilkenny the week before. Two serious outfits, two serious teams and that’s the standard of the competition in the McDonagh now so we’ll know where we are when we play Carlow in two weeks time,” he ended.
Laois will face Carlow in Round Three of Division 2A on Saturday, February 24 in O'Moore Park.