'Wow, what a finish'- Laois' Justin McNulty on Paul Kingston’s moment of magic against Down

Laois senior football manager Justin McNulty praised his side’s character after they produced a dramatic comeback victory over Down in Newry to close out their Division 3 campaign.

Despite leading by four points at half-time, Laois found themselves six points adrift by the 50th minute before mounting a superb late surge. A decisive spell that yielded 1-6 in 11 minutes ultimately secured a four-point win and handed Down their first defeat of the campaign.

Reflecting on the performance, Justin McNulty highlighted the response to both last weekend’s loss to Fermanagh and the in-game setback as Down took control in the second half.

“The lads deserve enormous credit for their performance. A bit of a hammer blow last week. We knew we didn't do ourselves justice in terms of the overall performance. To have dug that out today, away to the league leaders, who were undefeated, the guys deserve enormous credit for that. We do realise that Down were a little bit half-cocked. Maybe an eye on the league final, an eye on the first round of the championship. It may have been used as a warm-up game for them, so we're not getting carried away.

“There are huge learnings from the game, huge positives to be taken by the group. Down looked to be getting control in the second half, a series of scores, which put them six ahead, so our boys could have downed tools. They regrouped, regained their composure, and started winning kick-outs. They won big scores, got big scores, worked big scores and left a few scores on the table as well. Down probably did as well, so they evened each other out. But listen, overall, a performance the players can be proud of, and they deserve enormous credit for the performance they delivered today,” McNulty said.

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Paul Kingston proved to be the game’s standout performer, making a huge impact off the bench after being introduced at half-time. The forward finished with 2-3, including a stunning second goal that swung momentum firmly back in Laois’ favour.

McNulty admitted the Arles-Killeen man has firmly entered the conversation for a starting spot ahead of the upcoming Leinster Championship clash with Offaly.

“Nobody saw it, only he saw it. It was, wow, what a finish. Not alone the goal, but a big, big moment in the game. That was the pivotal point of the game. Paul deserves credit for that and for staying going, putting his hand up and putting himself in terms of the mix for selection. That's credit to him,” he said.

The Laois boss also pointed to the importance of the wider panel, acknowledging the contribution of those who didn’t feature but continue to drive standards in training.

“It's a team performance, and the team was the winner today. The team and the squad and the group, because there are fellas here who travelled today who haven't got any game time, but they keep knuckling down week in, week out in training and making our training sessions competitive. They deserve as much credit for that performance as the boys who started and the boys who came in, because that's what this is about, the squad. We can build on that towards the first round of the Leinster championship away to Offaly. That's going to be no easy feat, and we know we've got to be on our game that day. We’ll use this as a building block towards that,” McNulty said.

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Attention now turns to the Leinster Championship, with Laois set to travel to Tullamore in three weeks to face Offaly in the opening round. McNulty confirmed that the squad will take a short break before returning for a focused preparation block.

“This is a reset week. The boys will get a bit of time to recover mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Next weekend, we're in camp, and we're getting geared up for Offaly,” the Laois manager said.

While Offaly enter the contest on the back of relegation and a seven-game losing streak, McNulty insists that form will have little bearing on what is traditionally a fiercely contested fixture.

“A derby game, it means nothing. It's all about the championship, and the championship is a different beast than the league,” McNulty concluded.