Tailteann Cup final
Down 0-14 Laois 2-6
CONOR Laverty knew for a good while that the Tailteann Cup final, if Down made it that far, would clash with a sheep show that his eldest, Setanta, was looking forward to.
They’d be showing one of the flock and, truth be told, there was no chance of pulling out.
“He wasn’t happy when I told him they were both on the same day,” smiled Laverty.
Turns out Setanta won himself a rosette at the show, hightailed it to Croke Park and got there in time to watch them attaching the red and black ribbons to the handles of the Tailteann Cup.
“He was in the top four, I think,” reported Laverty of Setanta’s efforts.
As for Down, their reward is a place in Ireland’s top 16 in 2025, a golden ticket to the Sam Maguire Cup finally secured.
After losing to Meath last year, and having failed to win any of their 12 previous League or Championship finals, a tale of woe stretching back to the mid 1990s, grabbing the W was all that counted for Down.
Six unanswered points in a row between the 46th and 69th minutes, moving Down from one point behind to five up, ultimately won it for them.
Sure, they had to survive a worrying few minutes of stoppage-time after Mark Barry’s thunderbolt goal in the 71st minute - Laois conjured enough scoring chances even after that for potentially another 1-1 - but they had a vital cushion which sustained them.
Odhran Murdock was named man-of-the-match, displaying silk in the first half with a point off either boot and later steel when he dug in for a crucial 52nd-minute score as Down turned the screw.
Danny Magill had the assist for that third Murdock point and, whilst only introduced in the 44th minute, must have pushed his colleague hard for the individual honour.
Magill was that good in his time on the pitch, scoring two points himself. Pat Havern’s three points and general industry, not just at Croke Park but throughout the campaign, was impressive too, while captain Pierce Laverty’s man-marking job on Laois skipper and targetman Evan O’Carroll was in the nine-out-of-10 category.
The first comment Laverty made in the post-match press conference was about their Croke Park record.
“Well it’s good that Down teams are able to win again in Croke Park, isn’t that right?” he smiled.
Truth be told, it was a wry smile. Down defeats at Croke Park had been the bane of Laverty, a substitute for the 2010 All-Ireland final loss to Cork and in charge for last year’s Tailteann Cup decider loss to Meath and this season’s Division Three final reversal against Westmeath.
“Listen, when you have a record of losing in finals, no matter what a manager says, and no matter what the players are saying among themselves, there’s still external pressure on that,” said Laverty.
“History is a big pressure, particularly when you’re on that losing train because it’s very hard to get off when you’re on it. It probably gathers momentum and creates its own pressure.
“So I don’t think it was the prettiest performance and it definitely wasn’t our best performance of the year but in a final, to get over the line, that’s what it’s all about. Now to have that monkey off the back, particularly after last year, and after the League final this year, it’s huge. I would have taken any kind of win today.
“And I told the boys that during the week, we knew it wasn’t going to be an open football game, particularly after the scoreline last year. We knew that Laois were going to come and defend with 15 behind the ball, with a deep block.”
Down put 8-16 on the board when they met Laois at the semi-final stage last year. The early indications this time were that they might win comfortably again as they reeled off three points in the opening four minutes.
But this is a different Laois team. The soft and ageing underbelly that was so exposed last year has been replaced by Justin McNulty and they were much more formidable defensively. Pulling 13 and 14 players behind the ball, sometimes 15, they didn’t cough up a single decent goal chance. You could argue that Jonny Flynn could have gone for goal in the 13th minute but he was spinning around and shooting off his left foot.
The problem for Laois was that they couldn’t score enough at the other end.
“You don’t win many finals at Croke Park scoring eight times,” said McNulty, nailing it.
Seamus Lacey did capitalise on a half-clearance by John O’Hare for an 11th-minute Laois goal and Barry struck his rocket at the death to keep things interesting.
But the Division Four league champions wasted too many decent chances - Laois hit the woodwork twice in the 54th and 58th minutes, costing them 1-1 - and were also turned over too many times, particularly in the second quarter.
If it wasn’t for Down’s own wastefulness - they shot six first-half wides and Liam Kerr dropped a point attempt short – they’d have led by more than 0-8 to 1-3 at half-time.
Laois punished them for that too, rattling off three points in a row after the restart from Conor Heffernan, Barry and Paul Kingston. Now Laois had momentum, a narrow 1-6 to 0-8 lead, and the wind.
They also had another 30 minutes to go but, surprisingly, only managed one more score, the Barry goal in the 71st minute.
Laverty’s decision to hold back key men in the hope of finishing strong in games paid off. Kerr fulfilled that role against Sligo, shooting 0-3 off the bench that day. This time it was Magill, the goal-poacher of 2023 sniping two important points after coming on.
Caolan Mooney added a point too. Peter Fegan rounded off the six-in-a-row of Down scores and with a 0-14 to 1-6 lead and 69 minutes on the clock, it really should have petered out towards an inevitable conclusion.
But when James Kelly lofted a ball deep into Down’s defence, it broke out kindly to Barry who, standing on the 20-metre line, struck a rocket in over O’Hare and under the crossbar. The same player should have pointed for Laois soon after but dragged his kick wide.
There was another late ball in that Down cleared off their goal line. It was all a little messy, ugly even. But the W was all that Down and Laverty were after.
Down J O’Hare; P Fegan (0-1), R McEvoy, P Laverty; M Rooney, D Guinness, S Johnston (0-1); O Murdock (0-3), P Havern (0-3, 1f); P McCarthy, J Flynn (0-1), L Kerr (0-1); J Guinness, R Johnston (0-1), J McGovern.
Subs C Mooney (0-1) for McGovern 39, D Magill (0-2) for Rooney 44, R Magill for J Guinness 57, C McCrickard for R Johnston 69, F McElroy for Kerr 73.
Laois K Roche (0-1, 1f); J Kelly, S Fingleton, M Timmons; S Lacey (1-0), B Byrne, B Dempsey; D Larkin, C Heffernan (0-1); N Dunne, E Lowry, K Swayne; M Barry (1-2, 0-1f), E O’Carroll (0-1), P Kingston (0-1, 1f).
Subs R Murphy for Lowry 57, S Fitzpatrick for Kingston 66, K Lillis for Larkin 69, C Burke for Dunne 69, E Buggie for Kelly 71.
Referee B Griffin (Kerry).
