Tailteann Cup Final Preview: Laois GAA captain Evan O’Carroll has eyes set on Tailteann Cup

Gavin Cooper
By Gavin Cooper

Sport Reporter

Published 9th Jul 2024, 21:33 GMT
Picture: Sportsfileplaceholder image
Picture: Sportsfile

O'Carroll was speaking at a media event in the Laois Hire offices in Portlaoise

Laois captain Evan O’Carroll will lead his team to Croke Park for the third time in 2024 as they aim to become Tailteann Cup champions. Down stands in their way, with the winners also earning a spot in the Sam Maguire Cup next year.

“The mood is good. Look, when you're in the final, there's only positives to take from it, but a lot of preparation has to go in and making sure that we're ready to go in and put a performance against a very good Down team,” he said.

Laois has been on a high this year, having already won the Division 4 title at the end of March. O’Carroll finds the journey enjoyable, especially with their consistent victories.

“It's been very enjoyable, I suppose. When you're winning it makes that a bit easier, but we've put together a serious panel of all players and a management team. It's been really enjoyable so far and hopefully that continues,” he said. More below picture.placeholder image
“It's been very enjoyable, I suppose. When you're winning it makes that a bit easier, but we've put together a serious panel of all players and a management team. It's been really enjoyable so far and hopefully that continues,” he said. More below picture.

Discussing his role as captain, O’Carroll from Crettyard acknowledges the team's collective leadership and strives to give his best in every game.

“It's an honour to be captain for your county, but I just try to do as much as I can if I'm influencing an attack or trying to help out defensively. It's just making sure that I'm impacting the game in any way that I can. The group of lads that are there, there's more than one leader on the team. There’s 34 lads in there who are a really, really good group and we have plenty of leaders there,” the Laois captain said.

O’Carroll watched the final 10 minutes of the semi-final against Antrim from the sidelines after receiving a black card for a trip. He praised his teammates for stepping up and securing their place in the final.

“I don't know about the decision, but besides that I suppose you don't argue with the referee. I was disappointed that I couldn't finish out the game and put the lads under pressure, but the lads came through and they probably played better in the last ten minutes without me, it was great to see. You're always going to be nervous, but a really good squad there and the lads that made the impact off the bench finished out the game for us,” O’Carroll said. More below picture.placeholder image
“I don't know about the decision, but besides that I suppose you don't argue with the referee. I was disappointed that I couldn't finish out the game and put the lads under pressure, but the lads came through and they probably played better in the last ten minutes without me, it was great to see. You're always going to be nervous, but a really good squad there and the lads that made the impact off the bench finished out the game for us,” O’Carroll said. More below picture.

Laois has adopted a strong kicking game, with Niall Dunne and O’Carroll using their physical prowess effectively.

“I suppose when it's on, I think it's important to kick it in and we have to go forward. We've got good kick passers of the ball, so if it's on, absolutely go for it. But I suppose in the modern game, we can't afford to kick the ball too much if it's not on. As a forward, kick it in as much as we can if it's on. If not, we'll just keep the ball and make sure that we hold on to possession,” he said.

Reflecting on last year's semi-final loss to Down, O’Carroll is aware of the improvements in both teams and hopes Laois has learned from the past.

“Down have probably improved as a team since then. They're a Division 2 side now and have put in really good showings. We've improved as well, but I suppose it's just looking to see if we can put in a performance against them next Saturday and hopefully, we take learnings from last year. It's a new team that's important to highlight, but there are lads who experienced it and hopefully we don't experience that again,” O’Carroll said.

O’Carroll praised the Tailteann Cup for providing teams like Laois and Down the chance to play multiple Championship games. More below picture.placeholder image
O’Carroll praised the Tailteann Cup for providing teams like Laois and Down the chance to play multiple Championship games. More below picture.

“This is the second year where we've got multiple Championship games and that's always positive for every team that's in the Tailteann Cup. People are always shocked with some results, but you're nearly on a level playing field to a certain extent in the majority of games that you go into the Tailteann Cup, and I suppose that's the massive positive about it. Teams are going into games where they feel they have a great chance of winning, so it's definitely a thumbs up for the Tailteann Cup,” he said.

Looking back on Laois’ 2024 Tailteann Cup campaign, O’Carroll noted that their best performance came in the loss to Fermanagh in the group stages, despite some early struggles.

“It was disappointing against Carlow, we didn't see out the game. For 60 minutes we were really good in control, and I suppose didn't see it out, probably a trend that we had the year before. We went down and put in a good performance, we needed to win, and we won, so that's positive. I suppose our best game was probably against Fermanagh, even though we lost, our performance improved and then when we were up against New York, again, probably people aren't giving credit to New York for the type of team that they are. They are a good side with good players and since then we've got better, so hopefully that trend continues,” he ended.

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