McEneaney: Louth "showed character" to seal MFC win against Laois

Louth made it two wins from two in the Electric Ireland Leinster Minor Football Championship with a victory over Laois at Hunterstown on Tuesday night.

Manager, Eamonn McEneaney, remained measured afterwards, he said: “We wouldn't be happy with the performance overall. We were happy with the reaction in the second half, like when it was put up to us.

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“I think that the lads showed to have a bit of character, and they really went after it in the second half, and I think we won the second half well.

“But, you know, overall, there was a lot of things we need to improve on, and we certainly had plenty of goal chances where we could have put them away.

“But the most important thing was to get the two points and get over the line. It's a do-or-die now against Kildare to top the group.

“So that'll be a tough battle. They beat Meath tonight, I think, by five points. So, it's all or nothing next week for a semi-final and then the others through to a quarter-final.”

Character

Back-to-back wins, following the opening round success over Meath, underline the resilience within the panel. McEneaney was clear on that point.

“Yeah, well, as I said to you after the Meath game, they were a great bunch of lads, and they will battle, and they will fight, and they have got character.

“And all we can do is keep working with them in that regard and pushing them to be the best they can be and get them ready for games, and hopefully they can produce it on the day.

“I knew coming here today that Laois were a good enough side and they had chances against that, a penalty missed against Kildare.

“And that was with seven or eight minutes to go, they would have put them two down. So, we knew that it was going to be close.

“And again, if we let them play the way they did the first half of the whole game, it could have been a different result.

“But the boys did turn things around and showed that they were listening and needed to do what they did in the second half and did do it.”

Connell Kelly

A key moment came with the return of Conell Kelly after a first-half blood injury. His second-half contribution was significant, but the manager kept the focus collective.

“Yeah, he played very well. But again, Conell played as well as the boys around him also. And I think it was a performance from everyone in the second half.

“You know, a lot of guys stood up in the second half and showed what they can do. I think half-time was 0-8 all, so they got three points in the second half, and we got 11.

“So that was the difference between the teams in the end. So, we'd be very happy with the result. Wouldn't be happy with the performance overall, but very happy with the character that the boys showed.”

Despite the scoring burst, neither side found the net as opportunities came and went.

“There was plenty of opportunities, but the goalkeepers are in the goals to stop them, and sometimes they do. And I thought our keeper did well, and their keeper took off some great saves.”

Kildare next

Two wins on the board and a quarter-final secured, but the real test lies ahead in a winner-takes-all clash with Kildare now deciding top spot and a direct path to the semi-finals.

“Yeah, well, we'd have taken this situation before we set out to get two wins in the first two games. And that's all you can do.

“Give yourself a chance to get through to a semi-final. We're guaranteed a quarter-final spot. So, we'd be hoping that we can get a result.

“We picked up a few injuries there tonight, so that'll be a bit worrying. But hopefully we can get some of them back and be ready for Kildare next week.”

The turnaround is short, and the margin for error is tight.

“Yeah, and that's what your panel's for. And we would feel that we have a decent panel. And, you know, hopefully that'll come to fruition next week when we're playing Kildare.

“But it's not going to be easy. It's away, another way of a match for us. And, you know, Kildare showed their mettle tonight when they beat Meath by five points. So, we have a tough job ahead of us. But these boys, I think, will rise to the occasion.”