Buckley bids to banish the blues
The first reverberation is the closing of ranks within the Kilkenny camp. Cillian Buckley played in that game and was in Portlaoise yesterday for a press event ahead of tonight’s Leinster U21 decider at O’Moore Park.
Senior boss Brian Cody had instructed him not to talk about what happened in Croke Park but there was no hiding the disappointment, nor the desire to get back up on the horse quickly.
He and Richie Doyle spent Monday doing pool and physio sessions, and while Buckley was still feeling a bit tired yesterday, he was confident of being in mint condition to lead his side out this evening.
“I just want to kickstart the thing again, back to the U21 team and hopefully start from scratch again,” said Buckley.
“(Sunday is) still on the mind alright but I can’t dwell on it for too long. I have no plans on losing two in the one week. It means more to me.
“All I can do is get on with it. Dealing with this is a totally separate situation, a separate match and set-up. Win or lose last Sunday, it was going to be the same preparation for this. You can see what happens day to day — it doesn’t matter who you’re up against. We’ve witnessed that first hand. It does give us an extra kick on.”
If there is motivation for Buckley as a result of the cataclysmic actions of Galway, Laois have found their share of it too. Any crack to that aura of impregnability that made Kilkenny such a powerful force is welcomed by those looking to overhaul them.
“It shows that they’re not invincible and we’ll be taking that same attitude,” says Laois skipper, Darren King. “We have nothing to lose, we’ll leave it all on the field and hopefully that will be good enough.
“You couldn’t see it coming. And the fact that (Kilkenny) were well beaten meant they had no complaints. That’s the beauty of sport, that’s why we all watch it. Anything can happen.
“(Galway) had huge workrate; that was clear to see. They showed no respect, flew into it and there was clever hurling as well. It wasn’t clueless — they had a game plan and it worked for them.”
Not that Laois have had a year to remember at senior level, suffering a plethora of fairly heavy defeats in league and championship under Teddy McCarthy. Unlike McCarthy though, the best players have made themselves available to U21 boss Tony Doran.
Beating Dublin courtesy of Neil Foyle’s late point in the quarter-final was a massive shock to everyone — apart from the O’Moores themselves.
“They were red hot favourites. I don’t know did they underestimate us, but we prepared well, got the bit of luck and thankfully we came through,” says King.
“It would mean a lot for the profile of Laois hurling (if we could win this). It’s very low at the moment. There are a lot of good hurling people in Laois doing a lot of good work and it would be nice for them to have something to smile about.
“If we get the performance, hopefully the result will look after itself. We have to play the game, and not the occasion. We’re well prepared anyway and we feel we’re ready for it.”
Having missed out from April to October last year due to a groin injury, Cats star Buckley, who only turns 20 on Saturday and is underage again next year, is relishing this summer.
The prospect of leading out his county in an U21 decider excites him, but he won’t underestimate Laois.
“Laois have beaten Dublin. It was a surprise because Dublin were the main contenders for this Leinster championship after winning it last year (and the year before).
“So if Laois can beat Dublin they are as much contenders for a Leinster and All-Ireland championship as we are. “We have to treat this match that way and there is no doubt we will.”
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