Laois senior hurling manager Tommy Fitzgerald reacts to Joe McDonagh final defeat to Kildare

Laois senior hurling manager Tommy Fitzgerald admitted his side were undone by a combination of poor execution and a powerful Kildare performance, as they fell to a 2-26 to 1-19 defeat in the Joe McDonagh Cup final at Croke Park.

Laois went into the dressing room at half-time level at 0-11 apiece but had registered 11 wides and dropped several more shots short. Fitzgerald pointed to those missed chances and difficulties on their own puck-outs as key moments that swung momentum toward Kildare.

“11 wides in the first half and a few dropping short as well. A lot of them were good scoring opportunities. I don’t know how many times we went wide on the near post. They definitely hurt us. Still, we were in a decent position. We got the goal at the start of the second half. We probably struggled on our own puck-outs, to be honest with you, that's where they really hurt us. They upped the intensity, and I thought physically they finished very, very strong. They probably had a little bit of an edge in terms of size and athleticism and power,” he said.

Despite having worked on puck-outs in preparation for the final, Fitzgerald said it was difficult to adapt once things began to unravel.

“It's difficult when you're in-game as well to try and solve it and figure it out. We did a lot of work on puck-outs the last two weeks. But look, they're a well-coached team, they're well-conditioned, and they're a good side. They punished us today,” he added.

The manager made two pre-match changes to his line-up, with Jordan Walshe and James Keyes coming in for two of Laois' half-backs Ryan Mullaney and Tom Cuddy. He said those calls were never taken lightly.

“It's extremely hard. It’s the hardest part of the job, to be quite honest with you. You referenced those two, and they're two brilliant, brilliant people. They come in every night and give their heart and soul for Laois. Of course, they were bitterly disappointed. There were others very disappointed as well, not to start. It was very difficult to pick a team every day we went out. We have a lot of fellas around the one level, and everybody's putting in the same effort. You just have to pick a team based on the particular game that you're playing, the opposition especially, and you're trying to get match-ups right and what have you. It is difficult, and nobody likes not playing in the final as well,” he explained.

Laois must now turn around quickly to face Tipperary in a preliminary All-Ireland quarter-final next weekend, and Fitzgerald questioned the fairness of such a tight schedule after a physically draining final.

“Just after coming out of the dressing room there, it's just all too raw at the moment. But look, we will regroup in a day or two. It's important that we represent the jersey and the county as well as best we can next Saturday, which is a bit of a joke to have it next Saturday, to be honest with you,” he remarked.

As for the longer-term picture, Fitzgerald is hopeful that most of the current panel will remain together, although he acknowledged that a couple of players may now be facing big decisions about their futures.

“You want the group to stay together. There are actually not that many, I would say, possibly one or two, maybe, who might be coming towards the end, but they'll have a decision to make. But apart from that, the age profile is actually quite good. So look, we'll be hoping as a group that they can develop and stick together and try and build something over the next couple of years,” he ended. 

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