‘We had fitness but not physical strength’

THEY breed ’em tough up North. An expression more associated with England maybe, but one the Laois players would readily use to describe their colleagues from Ulster after Armagh scuppered dreams of an unlikely All-Ireland for the Midlands with a no-nonsense display yesterday.

After the swagger that Mick O’Dwyer’s latest recruits brought to Leinster this year, the experience of a team that has been frequenting this competition in late summer for the last six or so years was always going to be the toughest test so far.

“We’d said all along when we got the big teams this year that, if we could go in at half-time level or a point or two up, we’d have a great chance of sneaking one past them,” said keeper Fergal Byron. “We had the fitness today but we didn’t have the physical strength. Armagh were able to slow the game down and you want to be able to get in close to tackle them but they were able to hold you off with their arm. They’re big, strong men and we’ve learnt a lot from the game and we’ll use it to improve for next year.”