O'Byrne Cup 2022

[Chrimtain]

Time to start worrying? Forgive the pessimist in me but Laois doing well in the O'Byrne Cup doesn't augur well for a good year

[SCFC]

Best tenner I spent in years. Jesus, I'd actually forgotten how obnoxious some Kildare supporters are! 😀

[recyclebin]

When was the last time we bet Kildare? Seems like a long time ago.

[Robbo]

Ah that was great.
Only the O'Byrne Cup yeah yeah yeah but sport is great when you can go and forget yourself in the freezing cold like that.

Well done to everyine; you'd have to like what we're trying to do.

[redsetanta]

A great result and one thing that can be said is that there is serious fight in the Laois team. Billy and his selectors have to be thanked for that.

I was a 'we're heading for Div 4' doom merchant but on the basis of this competition I'd have to say things are looking a lot brighter.

[Junior Ex Laoistalk]

I was surprised and delighted at the intensity that Laois brought to the game. Right from the start they harried and hassled the man on the ball and closed down space very well.
The fitness levels were high on both sides and it made for a very exciting game.
Laois should have been well ahead at half time but some poor shooting and some wayward passes into the forward line let them down. They seem like a bunch of lads who don't give in too easy and that must come down to the manager and selectors. Great finish and an exciting penalty shoot-out to cap off a good evenings entertainment.

[SCFC]

You'd imagine the team that started last night will be close to the team for the first league game up in Louth. With probably Mark Barry and Paul Kingston coming into the forwards.

[Spiritof86]

Whether it's a challenge match or O'Byrne Cup beating Kildare at any level is gratifying. There is a lot more fire in the belly from Laois this year and that's obviously down to the lads on the line . No offence to last years set up but the intensity on the line this year has translated to the pitch . This was hugely lacking last year . The past 3 three matches have shown that .

Saying that Kildare were poor enough last night . Looked very leggy and unsure at times . There playing division one this year so for us to be competitive with them last night was very satisfying.
We've tightened up considerably. Mohan is a proper corner back and I'm glad he's in there .
The forwards are beginning to click and you can see a rhythm developing .
 
Division 3 survival is still priority . Anything else would be great .
Saturday is a free hit . Interesting to see what team Dublin have out

[Pugwash]

A lot of positives can be taken from not only today's game but the O'Byrne Cup on the whole and it's really worked out well for the management team to have gotten to see the squad over 5 games.

It was very evident that a number of younger more inexperienced players especially will need at least another year if not two to bulk up where we can physically look to match sides allover the park, but that will come.

On the game itself, when Dublin went to 14 I'm not sure why we persisted with the long kick out? Or at least if we were going long to create an overload somewhere instead of going straight down the middle more often than not.

I admired how we tried to kick the ball into the full forward line as early as possible, but the constant high lofted ball gave our forwards very little chance to get shots away. By the time the ball landed near head height we were often bottled up, again maybe when you're playing with an extra man would going through the hand a bit more not have been more logical? Or if we were going direct, pop the ball into space as opposed to in the clouds.

Looking to the future, staying up in Div 3 would be great but I wouldn't be too fussed if we didn't. What I would like to see is Billy sticking with this group of players (especially the younger lads) and get them all to fully buy into the set up and let's try and build for the long term. Short termism is no good and once lessons are learned throughout 2022, who's to say come 2023/2024 with the further emergence of fresh faces we can't at least look to get back into being top 3 in Leinster.

[Silkyskillssunshinee]

I'm a lot more positive about the upcoming league campaign than I was before. Fair play to Sheehan and co. for the job they've done so far. The players already look a lot fitter than they did last year and I like the idea of O'Loughlin at centre-back. Doesn't involve as much running as midfield.

Mohan and Kelly in the corners were solid and held the Dublin forwards well I thought. Finn in midfield was up against the best midfielder in the country but did not look out of his depth at all. O'Flynn at wing-back has a great engine and a bright future.

I agree with the poster above that a few lads need to get that bit physically stronger. All of the Dublin lads, even the ones who won't see gametime in the league or championship and might be dropped off the panel, are in serious physical condition. S&C is one of the most important parts of the modern game. The likes of Barry and Moore are brilliant footballers but need to improve in this department if they want to compete at the top at inter-county level.

All in all a very enjoyable run in the O'Byrne Cup and I think that could help galvanise good crowds for the league campaign. Louth are a tricky opposition to start with though so the lads will need to be at the top of their game to take the points in that one.

[Chrimtain]

Watching the match today, I'm sure Mickey Harte will have learned a lot about Laois' strengths and weaknesses. However, win lose or draw tomorrow week, it seems to me that Billy Sheehan has Laois on the right path.

[SCFC]

Without going into the game in any depth, can I just say how enjoyable the brand of football Laois are playing is?
Jesus, you'd fall asleep looking at us for the last two years. It's far from perfect but it might bring some supporters back knowing that the style of football is reasonably attractive.

[Junior Ex Laoistalk]

A very satisfying O'Byrne Cup run for Laois and the new Management. The drubbing by Wexford in the first game was the best thing about it to be honest.
It made lads sit up and see what senior county football is all about and opened managements eyes of the task that lay before them. After that it was all uphill and fair play to all concerned they responded brilliantly.

The game against Wicklow was dogged and we found a way to win. The win against Meath was well merited through the hard work we put in and against Kildare we certainly had a plan with the quick ball into the forwards and great tracking back when needed. A few tweaks needed into that plan but that will come too.
Today against the Dubs we did a lot of things right but couldn't match their physicality and fitness and we tired near the end. That's understandable as it was a lot of tough games over a short period of time and the last time they played was 2 weeks ago.

Overall a great campaign and the management have learned a lot and hopefully will build on it during the league. Staying in the top half of Div3 would be good but winning it and promotion would be brilliant. 

[The PRO]

Considering we were without Gareth Dillon, Paul and Donie Kingston, Paddy O'Sullivan, Collins Ugochuku, Alan Farrell, Adam Campion and Niall Corbett, it was a decent performance. If we can get a few lads back for next Sunday in Ardee, I'd be hopeful we can get a result up there.

[blueandwhite1]

In some ways, the intensity with which Laois played for spells on Saturday reminded me of the Micko years. Individual players seem to getting the best out of themselves and have a bit of belief. Loads to work on and far from having a settled team but definitely going in the right direction. A couple of early league wins would provide a nice panic-free platform for the Billy era.