Moran highlights Laois physicality and experience after disappointing Division 4 Final defeat

The first to acknowledge that the better team won on the day, Andy Moran nevertheless highlighted the deep disappointment in the Leitrim camp after suffering a 3-14 to 0-9 loss in the Allianz NFL Division 4 Final in Croke Park on Saturday.

Always a positive thinker, the Leitrim manager was keen to stress the positives in his charges winning promotion but acknowledged that the Green & Gold have still room to make up on teams like Laois: “It is clear there that we’ve came a long way in terms of our physicality and running ability.

“But Laois have been up and down the divisions over the last couple of years and you could see it in them today, the pace of the ball, bit more used to Croke Park and in fairness, they got a good look at us two weeks ago. We had to go all out last week against Tipp, they had a good look at us. 

“We had a very limited time to change anything, Laois changed enough I think to get their match-ups right and we struggled to break them down. Let's be 100% clear here, the best team won. We’re delighted to have got out of Division 4, very disappointed today but we will come again.”

Laois’ increased intensity and nullifying of Darragh Rooney and Ryan O’Rourke who did so much damage in Laois Hire O’Moore Park two weeks ago was key: “That was it, we’ve got two really deadly forwards. I suppose Darragh has been outrageously good for us all league and they did a job on him today and they did ok on Ryan too. 

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“Listen, it was a tough ask for us to come up six days later and try to win a National Final - we thought we had it in our ranks but today showed we have a bit to go yet. If you look at Laois last year against Down, Laois had conceded a goal inside the first minute of the game - they weren’t going to do that today and when you get momentum in Croke Park, it is really hard to turn that but it is a learning curve for our boys.”

Momentum took a dramatic turn when Laois hit 1-1 inside 60 seconds right after Leitrim had hit three on the bounce, a key moment in the game: “These are the margins when you come to Croke Park. From a kickout, the ball slips out of Jack Gilheaney’s hands and the game is over. I was delighted with the way the boys finished, they really could have thrown in the towel in the last few minutes but they kept it reasonable.”

Leitrim now face a very quick turnaround with a Connacht SFC clash with Sligo next Sunday in Avant Money Pairc Sean Mac Diarmada as the Leitrim manager admitted the schedule of games is difficult: “You’d swear there were 12 teams in Connacht, I don’t know what the rush is but it is what it is, we’ll get on with it, we won’t complain.

“We’ve played eight games in the league, seven in the group stages, one in the final and we’ve won five of them. We’re in a very good position, we’d be very happy with how we’re developing and we just need to push on now.”

What Moran most wants now is for Leitrim to push on and get back to GAA headquarters in the near future: “When you come to Croke Park, there is nothing like winning in Croke Park. There was a trophy at the end of this but any game you win in Croke Park is a special day. Laois were here last year, didn’t go well for them but they made sure of it there today, the way they played, their structures. 

The Leitrim team who were defeated by Laois in the Allianz NFL Division 4 Final Picture: Sportsfile

“They were a tiny bit physically ahead of us coming down the stretch and that is what cost us. What we don’t want to do now is wait another five, ten, 15 or 20 years to be here again. Have a good run in the championship, have a good run in the Tailteann Cup, hopefully get to the quarter-finals or semi-finals and hopefully we will be here again before the end of the year.

“You have a big Summer now in football to really develop into the strength & conditioning programmes, get themselves right and you push on and see where we go next year. You see with Laois and all the talent they have, you get yourself caught in Division 4, it is a really tough place to get out of.“You see Sligo with all their talent, it took them five years. You see Wexford who are an outstanding team, they’re still there next year. We’re delighted to be out, we’d have liked to be closer coming down the stretch - we got to two points but it just wasn’t enough to push on.”