UNKNOWN TERRITORY
Laffan looking forward to great Leinster final occasion
1996 All Ireland winner Gary Laffan has worked his magic in his first year as Glenealy manager, winning the county title for the first time since 2013 and bringing the club to a Leinster final for the first time in their history. How does that feel?
“It’s unknown territory for Glenealy but I suppose at the start of the year the four-in-a-row was massive for them and then they were down for a few years.
“When I came in this year I tried to get the young lads to make a name for themselves and create their own legacy.
“The four-in-a-row team was talked about a lot but we can’t keep going backwards, these young lads came on board and worked very hard, as the year went on they grew in confidence.
“We got a few breaks along the way, to get to a Leinster final you need to get a few breaks, but you won’t get the breaks without the hard work and the determination and fighting for each other. It’s the least they deserve after the work they’ve put in.
“They’re looking forward to a big day now, we’ll go to Ballyragget as overwhelming underdogs but let it be so, hopefully we put in our performance and see where it takes us.”
The match went backwards and forwards with one team going ahead and then the other team coming back and taking the lead. Laffan spoke about the weather conditions as having a big say in how the game played out.
“It’s winter hurling and every team will get their purple patch. We got our purple patch for the seven minutes before half time and for about twelve minutes at the start of the second half and I think in that time we went from four points down to five points ahead. When you get your purple patch you have to make it count.
“For the last fifteen minutes they hit their purple patch and we were under pressure and they hit three or four points to get back within a point.
“You’re not going to dominate a match like this for 60 minutes. When they have their purple patch you have to defend as hard as you can and when you have your purple patch you have to be as clinical as you can.”
He also highlighted the impact of his bench.
“We used the five subs today, we’ve been using them all year. It’s tough hurling in those conditions, lads are going to get tired, the panel for me is as important as the team and I’ve been trying to instil that since the start of the year, that fifteen players won’t win anything.
“I think they’ve come on board, it took them a bit of time to get used to it, but I think they’ve come on board. We’ve used 23 or 24 lads this year in championship. You just have to mix and match and go with your instinct.”
Laffan switched the two O’Neills with a quarter of an hour to go and paid tribute to them in his postmatch interview.
“We did that in county final and in fairness to Jonathan Snr, for a man with so many miles on the clock, he’s an unbelievable man to go for as long as he has. He’s an incredible individual, he has a great heart. I think a special moment for him was playing with his son in the county final and winning the county final. That’s a special moment for anyone.
“We have great faith in his young fella and when Bosco Snr retires I’d have no problem bringing Bosco Jnr out to midfield. He got a brilliant goal and he’s still only a Minor and he could go anywhere. He’s got good breeding as an O’Neill and he’ll be around for a long time, there’s no doubt about that!”
Being a Wexford man Laffan had a bit of inside knowledge on St Anne’s, a club that bounced straight back to the Senior ranks with victory in the Intermediate final, and used that to Glenealy’s advantage on the day. Was he surprised by their performance and how Diarmuid O’Keeffe was their main threat?
“We had a little bit of a head start whereas they were coming up to us blind, they didn’t realise who we had or what we had. The fact that I probably knew them intimately in the Senior game in Wexford was probably a bit of a help.
“Warren [Kavanagh] went man on man with Diarmuid O’Keeffe and a hurler like Dee O’Keeffe, he was nominated for an All Star this year, you’re not going to hold him for the hour. It was all about containment.
“To be fair to Warren, he contained him as well as anyone could contain him, you’re not going to stop a guy like this for 60 minutes. It was a tough ask on Warren but I think in the last ten minutes he came out on top.”
Laffan is aware that Glenealy won’t be given a chance against St Patrick’s, Ballyragget in the Leinster final and while he hadn’t thought that far ahead directly after the match, he’s looking forward to planning their downfall.
“We went to Dublin to see the Thomas Davis-Raheny game and it’s very difficult to get a handle on one game but we picked out a few Thomas Davis lads we thought were a threat and got a bit of luck on the day. Today, we had our homework done and got over the line.
“I haven’t even looked at Ballyragget. The only thing I can say is I know their trainer David Buggy, I hurled Minor and U21 against him. We texted each other this morning and wished each other well.
“It will be a great occasion and of course we’re underdogs but who cares about underdogs, let the bookies put a price and let it be so. It’s 15 men against 15 men and we have five or six subs who can come on and do a job.
“Let’s just get a performance, let’s recover this week and get the boys in good form for next week. Get a performance and see where it takes us.”