Cork selector recognises Laois threat

Cork Under-21 football selector Michael O'Loughlin has seen it all in the past with the Rebels senior side and the Kanturk native is hoping that he and his backroom colleagues can help mastermind a Cork success in Saturday's Cadbury's All-Ireland U-21 final.

But O'Loughlin and company are fully aware of the threat which their opponents Laois will pose.

"We are hoping for big things in Thurles on Saturday but we are up against a very good Laois team," O'Loughlin admitted.

"I can assure you that this final is going to be a cracking game - ff the two teams perform as well as they did last year when they met twice and they were two outstanding games and we were lucky to win the replay by a couple of points."

Laois beat Cork after a replay at minor level three years ago and O'Loughlin concedes that Saturday's game is very hard to predict.

"It's a very difficult match to call. They are two very evenly matched teams and they know each other so well now after those games and playing challenge matches as well over the last few years.

"Both sides are great footballing teams and if Cork produce the game they played against Armagh the last day, I would think myself that this will be a cracking game."

The Rebels selector concedes that there is a fear that this Cork side has a tendancy to let the foot slip a little bit off the pedal in the second half of games.

However, unlike Laois where the senior club football championship has been postponed to allow players some rest time, this is not the case in Cork where they have proceeded with two full rounds of SFC fixtures.

"A lot of our players had played Cork Championship matches the week before the Armagh game. We have had no games since Sunday, some were playing on Friday or Saturday also.

"It's very hard to expect young fellas to come out every day and play for the full hour especially after playing Championship matches four days before the game of their lives, an All-Ireland final," O'Loughlin added.

The Cadbury's All-Ireland Under-21 Football Final throws in at 7pm on Saturday at Semple Stadium in Thurles and it is live on TG4.