Wounded Laois ready for 'huge' Tipp test

Laois hurler Pádraig Delaney has labelled this Saturday's All-Ireland quarter-final clash with Tipperary a "huge test" as they look to bounce back from Joe McDonagh Cup final agony.

The O’Moore County fell at the hands of neighbours Kildare in Croke Park last Sunday, 12 months on from another agonising loss to Offaly in the same fixture.

They would ultimately go on to lose to Wexford a week later but are buoyed by the prospect of taking a major scalp this time around.

"It's a big test just a week after. It’s great to have a game like that. We'll be back training tonight and hopefully we'll prepare as best we can for it," Delaney told RTÉ Sport.

"It's going to be a huge test, we know that, but we'll try and prepare as best we can."

Tipperary finished the Munster championship level on points with finalists Cork and Limerick, suggesting a huge task awaits the Midlanders, but Delaney is aware of where his county men need to improve ahead of Saturday’s encounter in Portlaoise.

"I think the game got away from us there in the second half. We got a goal after half-time, and I thought we would push on. Cathal [Dunne] made a few great saves as well, but they just tagged on the scores easier than we did.

"We struggled on our own puck-outs and that's disappointing."

The Harps centre-back started in every game for Laois across the McDonagh Cup campaign, scoring in each of their six games.

There is no doubt that losses can leave a scar. Laois were All-Ireland quarter-finalists back in 2019, when they lost to eventual champions Tipperary. But there’s no hang-up towards Kildare’s history-making result.

"It's a tough one to take after two years. Kildare were full value, they’re a great side with some brilliant players there and we are just disappointed overall," added Delaney.

The target now is on a home showdown with another neighbour, before looking to go all the way in the Joe McDonagh next year, and return to the Leinster Championship.

"We want to get back to Leinster Championship and to do that, we have to win the Joe McDonagh, and we have to consistently beat these teams. So hopefully we're back again next year and we'll go again."

Despite the short turnaround between the Joe McDonagh final and the preliminary quarter-final, Delaney and co are enjoying the challenge.

"We're going to have to pick ourselves up. It's a tough championship, like it's week on week, but it's enjoyable. So we'll go back training tonight and we'll try and try and pick the lads up and we'll go again on Saturday."

Watch an All-Ireland Football Championship double-header, Monaghan v Down and Donegal v Mayo, on Sunday from 1.30pm. Follow a live blog on rte.ie/sport and the RTÉ News app. Listen to updates on Sunday Sport on RTÉ Radio 1. Watch highlights on The Sunday Game at 9.30pm.

Click here to read article