James McCartan was in no doubt that Down's slow start cost them victory against Laois.

The Mournemen's faint hopes of earning promotion were all but extinguished by half-time when they trailed by 1-1 to 1-10, although they did make a fight of things in the second half.

"You can't expect to get anything out of a game when, in the first half, we couldn't win our own primary possession," the Down manager is quoted in the Irish News.

"It was disappointing, we were very poor and I have no excuse for the first half performance.

"Laois were fighting relegation and our chances of promotion were slim, and maybe that showed a bit in the first half in the attitude of the two teams which is disappointing. We'll try to cling on to the crumbs of comfort that at least the second half we made a bit of a game of it and showed a wee bit of fight."

McCartan's opposite number Tomas O Flatharta was delighted to secure Division 2 status for 2015.

"We're still learning, but I thought we fought much better for each other today," the Laois boss reflected.

"But the work is only beginning now - the championship is around the corner and this is the time we really need to group together and work harder." Tweet

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