Laois' David Dooley unfazed by Wexford test: 'No point in playing otherwise'
The sides will clash in Portlaoise on Saturday evening
Rosenallis' David Dooley and his Laois hurling team come into this weekend's game with Wexford hoping to right the wrongs of last weekend's result against Offaly in the Joe McDonagh Cup final in Croke Park.
Laois were the architects of their own downfall in the final as they hit 18 wides as well as spurning a good few goal chances. As well as that they coughed up 1-1 at the beginning of both halves.
Ahead of the Wexford game, Dooley attended a media event alongside the seven other teams that'll compete in the All-Ireland Hurling Championship. Speaking to RTÉ's Marty Morrisey, he had this to say ahead of the Wexford game.
"We’ll always be confident, no other point in playing it otherwise," the 21-year-old attacker told RTÉ Sport’s Marty Morrissey.
"Our focus obviously changed straight away to Wexford, they’ve been preparing for that for the last few weeks so it’s going to be very tough," Dooley said.
"We’ve a good group of lads and we went in obviously confident (against Offaly) that we’d get the win, so a bit of a knock in the teeth," he continued.
"Still, we’ll regroup, we’ll get the bodies right, get the minds right again and focus for Saturday."
Laois remain the only team that competed in the Joe McDonagh Cup final to have won a preliminary quarter-final after they famously defeated Dublin in Portlaoise in 2019. They went on to face Tipperary in the quarter-finals but ultimately came up short against the eventual All-Ireland champions of that year.
Laois and Wexford throws-in at 5pm on Saturday, June 15 in Laois Hire O'Moore Park. Tickets for the game can be bought here. The Leinster Express/ Laois Live will be providing a free live blog from Portlaoise with the game not being shown anywhere.