'We came here to get two points and we got two points'- Laois manager Justin McNulty

The Laois senior footballers made it ten points from ten in this year’s Division 4 following a comprehensive victory over London on Saturday evening.

Justin McNulty spoke to the media after the game to give his thoughts on Laois’ fifth successive win in the division.

“We're happy with the result. There are huge elements of the performance we're not happy with and we need to address and clean up and be better but ultimately we came here to get two points and we got two points,” he said.

London came to Portlaoise with a game plan and that was to sit with 15 men behind the ball and try counter-attack. Laois found it hard to find gaps in the defence and only had six points at the break.

“They played very effectively defensively in the first half. They limited our chances and we aided and abetted them by coughing the ball up cheaply too often but they made things very, very difficult for us and we knew at half-time we were in a serious, serious battle with our backs against the wall to a certain degree with the wind the way it was. We had to dig deep and the fellas did that, thank God,” McNulty said.

Laois’ second-half performance was exceptional especially in the first 17 minutes of the half as they fired in 2-4 without reply. McNulty felt that the first goal came at a crucial time in the contest.

“The goal was critical and it turned the game, without that it probably might have been a serious uphill battle. Credit to Mark Barry who chased that ball down to make sure it didn't go wide, forced a sideline kick and the goal came off that so those little inches make a diffeence,” he said.

Laois second goal came in the 51st minute as Eoin Lowry’s shot dropped short but Kevin Swayne was quickest to react to raise a green flag.

“Kevin, followed the ball in, chased the ball, chased down what looked like a lost cause. Maybe it was a shot dropped short and he was decisive in his finish, well done to Kevin,” the Laois manager said.

Laois suffered a huge blow midway through the first-half as Ciaran Burke had to be replaced due to a challenge on his ankle. McNulty provided the media with an update while also stressing that there’s huge competition for places in his squad.

“He had an x-ray, no broken bones, obviously the ligament is damaged which will take a bit of healing and just thankfully no broken bones.

“We have a strong squad, there's huge competition for places. There are fellas in there very upset, they haven't had game time yet. But you know, seasons work in funny ways in this sport and fellas who may not have played yet may play a big role yet in our season. So everyone's staying disciplined, staying committed and keeping pushing, keeping that competition in places which can only be good for the squad and good for the team,” he said.

Laois’ James Kelly was a late withdrawal from the squad after the St Joseph’s defender got injured in the warm-up which meant that Sean O’Flynn played corner-back and Danny O’Reilly came into the starting 15.

“James just got a pull in his quad so it looked nasty enough, he knew straight away he was gone. Thankfully we've got strength and depth there, a few fellas can just step in. 

“Sean was good on the ball, he maintained possession very effectively and strongly. So that's what we asked him to do and he did that very well,” McNulty said.

Mark Barry caused havoc for the London defence on Saturday evening as the O’Dempsey’s forward kicked five points as well as being the provider for Laois’ first goal.

“Mark deserves credit for that. He's a great player, he's a great finisher. I guess he wasn't happy with his delivery in terms of his scoring output so far. He knows he needs to be better because he's a go-to scorer. Thankfully tonight, he did much better and despite early misses, he kept going. That’s testament to his character and I think there's still so much left in Mark as well,” he said.

Although Laois now have five wins from five games, McNulty says that Laois are only focused on their performances and that wins aren’t the main objective just yet.

“We're not focused on wins, we haven't focused on wins yet. We're very focused on elements of performance and there's huge elements of performance we're not happy about and we need to improve those. We have Leitrim next and we're not going to be focused on a win, we're going to be focused on our performance. Leitrim are a good side and they're fighting for promotion, as we are, so it's going to be a dog-eat-dog battle,” he ended.

Laois face Leitrim in Round 6 on Saturday, March 16 in Laois Hire O’Moore Park from 4.15pm.