Plunkett keeping Laois focused on Antrim task

He couldn’t be blamed for fancying the easier of the two Leinster championship paths, though Seamus Plunkett insists he genuinely hasn’t thought about Laois’s chances beyond next weekend.

Plunkett’s improving Laois take on Antrim in the final qualifying series game, with the winners set to be directed down the significantly more attractive side of the provincial draw. Whoever tops the new round robin group will play Wexford, fellow Division 1B opposition, while the runners up will be paired off against Galway, the 2012 Leinster winners.

Should that runner up pull off one of the great Championship surprises and actually beat Galway, a likely semi-final against Kilkenny awaits.

Consider that the winner of Sunday’s table-topping Portlaoise tussle will play Wexford and then Dublin, both of whom won’t have played a game beforehand, and you can see why it is shaping up as a win or bust weekend.

“I wouldn’t see it like that at all,” maintained Plunkett, whose team are level on points with Antrim but have a superior scoring differential. “Look at the challenge matches Wexford have been playing lately and just look at the improvement they have been making under Liam Dunne in the last year or so. I think Wexford are a real coming force. But we’re not even looking at Wexford or Galway. We’re just looking at Antrim this weekend. We’re just targeting the game next Sunday. If we win that, it’s Wexford we draw. If we don’t, it’s Galway.”

Plunkett pointed out that his Laois team gave Galway a major scare in last year’s Championship, the westerners only winning after a late scoring burst.

Laois credited that solid performance partly to the momentum gained from two wins beforehand. This year, they’ll have played five competitive games before entering the Championship proper, sharpening their focus.

“In reality, to be playing five Sundays in a row (in the league), then to have a small break, then to play another five Sundays in a row and expect to perform against Wexford or Galway is going to be a big challenge for us,” said ‘Cheddar’.

“We are delighted to be able to play so many games. But it is a challenge. It’s something we’re just going to have to work our way through and see how we go. I can’t really answer that question until two or three weeks’ time.”

Laois are favourites to progress as group winners though Antrim will take heart from Plunkett’s side’s difficulties in London last weekend, when they won narrowly.

“I think Kevin Ryan has done a fantastic job with Antrim,” said Plunkett. “The U21 run last year stood out really well. They’re a very united team, solid and physical. We played them in the league in Portlaoise maybe five or six weeks ago and there was nothing in it. We were fortunate to get a goal that set us up for the victory. There’ll be nothing in it on Sunday.”