"It's not David and Goliath, it's David and Goliath's bigger brother!"
May 15, 2016
Mick Lillis.
©INPHO/Lorraine O'Sullivan.
Laois manager Mick Lillis doesn't hold out much hope of his side pulling off an upset against Dublin in their Leinster SFC quarter-final at Nowlan Park.
After seeing off the challenge of Wicklow in O'Moore Park yesterday (3-16 to 0-18), Lillis and his players now face the daunting task of taking on the All-Ireland champions in the last eight on Sunday, June 4th.
"It's not David and Goliath, it's probably David and Goliath's bigger brother!" the Laois man quipped when speaking to Midlands Sport shortly after the final whistle last night.
"I think the nearest anyone has come to Dublin in three or four years is 12 or 14 points. I suppose if you were looking in there today you'd be saying there's not much point in Laois going to Nowlan Park but life's not like that. You go and you put your best foot forward."
The concession of 18 points to a Division 4 side is a cause of concern for Lillis and his backroom team.
"If we defend like that Dublin will be gone out the gate after 10, 15 minutes and they won't look behind them. Dublin would destroy us on that performance. We'll hope that we won't be as poor.
"Stopping Dublin is a mammoth task and I don't know if there is anyone capable of doing it, never mind us. As someone said to me after the game the pick of the four teams (Laois, Wicklow, Louth and Carlow) wouldn't beat Dublin and they're probably right."
The decision to fix the game for Nowlan Park still irks the O'Moore County...
"The fanfare of bringing Dublin to any venue would be phenomenal, it would be just fantastic, and to bring it to Nowlan Park, the home of hurling, where there is never a football match played I think is a bit of a travesty.
"I think it's a poor decision and it's a pity it was made. I would hope, on reflection, that a different decision would be made but look that's out of our hands. We had no hand, act or part in it, no more than Dublin. Jim Gavin has said continuously he'll play wherever he's told to play. He doesn't get into the politics of it but it is politics."
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