Tailteann Cup: 'We want to be at Croke Park on bigger days,' says Down boss Laverty

Liam Kerr scored a hat-trick as Down thrashed Laois to reach the Tailteann Cup final

Down boss Conor Laverty said that his side want to be at Croke Park on "bigger days" after their ruthless performance against Laois saw them reach the Tailteann Cup final.

Laverty's men claimed a commanding 8-16 to 2-12 victory to book their place in the final against Meath.

However, Laverty conceded he would prefer if the Mournemen were involved in the All-Ireland series.

"We are under no illusions, we want to be here on bigger days," he told RTE.

"It is everyone's dream to play at Croke Park and some of those boys fulfilled that, but we would swap anything to be coming here next weekend to play in the All-Ireland quarter finals.

"We know where we are at and we are just looking forward to the final ahead".

Laverty has helped spark an upturn in Down's fortunes this year after a forgettable 2022, when they Mourne county failed to win a single competitive game.

After finishing second in Group Three behind Meath, Down defeated Longford and Cavan to reach the final four of the Tailteann Cup.

Despite the comfortable nature of those two victories, few could have predicted the scoreline that was to follow against Laois on Sunday.

Liam Kerr netted three times as Danny Magill twice found the back of the Laois net while Pat Havern, Odhran Murdock and Rory Mason also raised green flags as Down went on a goalscoring spree.

They had scored four goals in the opening 16 minutes, and Laverty praised his side for making such a fast start to the game.

"We are very happy with our performance in the first half. We knew when we were coming to Croke Park that we would have the ability to kick the ball and that space would appear," he added.

"The boys were very composed in front of goal and took their chances well."

Down’s Pat Havern celebrates after they booked their place in the Tailteann Cup final for the first time

Laverty admitted that he was not pleased with his side's performance in the second half, and insists they will have to raise their game once again in the final on Saturday 15 July.

However, the former Kilcoo forward did express his delight at being able to utilise his full squad on Sunday and give more players the minutes they deserve.

"I was not so impressed with the second half. I think we took our foot off the gas, but it is very hard when you are that far in front to keep the mental intensity going. It has left us a lot of areas to improve on.

"Our panel has been very strong throughout this campaign, all through the year the boys have trained extremely well, so it was very fitting that a lot of them got game time."

Looking ahead to the final in just under three weeks time, Laverty expects a close encounter against Colm O'Rourke's side, who secured a two point victory against Down in the group stages.

They also beat Antrim by two points at the weekend to book their place in the final after seeing off Wexford in the quarter-final.

"We played Meath in our group and they are a very strong team, they have a lot of experience and under new management they are playing a different system.

"They are going to be hard to break down and it is going to be a very physical battle."