By Peter McGrath jnr
CONOR Laverty was a happy man in the post-match press conference in Croke Park on Saturday, following a dramatic victory over Wexford in the Division Three final.
While Down’s place in the Sam Maguire Cup won’t be certain until after the provincial championships, Laverty was pleased his side had done as much as they could through the league to put themselves in a strong position to qualify.
“You can’t guarantee [qualification for Sam Maguire] but the one thing you can park is that we’ve done our job now, and it would be a whole lot worse if we weren’t able to fulfil our side of the bargain. So we have done everything possible in our power now to put ourselves in the best position, and it’s now in the hands of others,” he said.
Looking back on the game, the Kilcoo clubman acknowledged that both teams had their periods of dominance. “I think both teams were dominant in spells in the first half. Definitely midway through the second half, Wexford were actually very dominant. They were in real control of the game, but I think the boys showed real character then to claw themselves back into the game.”
Having lost their way through much of the second half, Laverty was pleased his team executed a late surge that ultimately took the game to extra time.
“We created the opportunity, but it took character to get back into the game. Maybe that wee bit of experience of being in tighter battles over the past number of years probably stood to the group.
“You can’t buy that kind of experience. It’s just whenever you’re in those moments time after time, and we’ve been on the receiving end of some of them, that’s whenever you gain your experience and build your knowledge.
“We approached extra time with a cool and calm head. We chatted about different times, even from our own experiences, that we’ve been in that position and how best to handle it.”
While there were elements of the performance which will require further work and analysis, Laverty was pleased with the leadership shown by certain players in the closing stages of normal time.
“That’s probably the highlight of the night. Whenever you were three points down, maybe around the 62nd or 63rd minute, I felt we had real leaders stand up. A lot of our lads have gained experience over many years of being in tough battles, and thankfully they came to the fore then,” he said.
Read the full story in the current issue, including Conor’s analysis of playing Donegal in the Ulster Championship.
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