Laverty relishing Croker return

Wednesday 19th June 2024

Down manager Conor Laverty believes the ‘big open spaces’ of the Croke Park pitch are tailor-made for his side, despite their recent poor record there.

Since hammering Laois in last year’s Tailteann Cup semi-final, the Mournemen have lost the Tailteann Cup and Allianz League Division 3 finals to Meath and Westmeath respectively at GAA headquarters. But speaking after last Saturday’s win over Wicklow in Newry and ahead of Sunday’s Tailteann Cup semi-final against Sligo, Laverty insisted that Down are suited to playing in Croke Park.

“We came here with a job to do, get back to Croke Park and we're just delighted to be able to do that,” he told reporters.

“The last time we were there we were probably very disappointed with our performance, so we're looking forward to getting back there.