Murphy believes Portlaoise will be no pushovers
DUNDALK second row Enda Murphy is taking nothing for granted as Adam Doyle’s team prepare to lock horns with Division 2A outfit Portlaoise on Sunday in the second round of the Bank of Ireland Provincial Towns Cup.
The midlanders dished out a 53-0 drubbing to the second team of reigning Towns Cup champions Enniscorthy in their own back yard in round one, and on Sunday they completed their league campaign with a 17-7 win at Balbriggan to finish third in their division.
After those results Murphy insists that a trip to Laois is a tough task, even though Dundalk are two tiers above them in the Leinster League.
‘They are a big, powerful side with a clear style of play,’ he said, speaking on Sunday evening.
‘I mean, you have to be a good team to score 53 against anyone. I have heard that they are a forward-orientated team, big, hard men and strong in the carry, and they are a team who relish it if you want to keep it tight against them.
‘So we are maybe going to have to change our approach and go from forward play to back play and that will take a lot of focus from both departments in the team.
‘There’s a lot of seriously good players in Dundalk and a lot of guys who are retired and who may have lots of silverware but only possibly just one Towns Cup. That’s how difficult it is to win. It’s one of the toughest competitions in Leinster and there are no easy games.’
Murphy is well aware of what to expect when his team make the journey this weekend.
‘While it would be nice for those who run the club to get a big crowd at Mill Road, we know that going to Laois will be difficult.
‘There will probably be a hostile atmosphere there with a huge crowd and that’s just something we have to deal with.’
However, while the away draw for most would be a disadvantage, it is actually a slight positive for Dundalk in some ways.
‘Believe it or not, over the last few years our away form has been better than our home form and we seem to play our best rugby on the road, but as far as we’re concerned it’s a game and I don’t care where it’s played, we’ll play it.’
Murphy does hope, however, for better playing conditions when Sunday’s fixture comes around.
‘I am sick of the rain! We can deal with the cold, but hopefully the weather is a bit better than it has been the last few weeks.’
The club will train on Thursday night and the injury situation will be more apparent at that stage. Murphy himself is carrying a knock but says he will be fit for Sunday.
The two-week break between the Wicklow fixture and this should one benefit several others who are hoping to come back from injury.
Kick-off in Togher is at 3pm as Dundalk hope to begin a successful cup run.