Michael O'Grady squints in the sunlight and contemplates the breaks of the game. "It looked like a draw. I was terrified of a draw because this weather is so warm that the winners would need a fortnight to recover for the match in Croke Park.
"A good finish but we have questions to ask about what happened us in the second half for a while," said the Dublin boss.
Too often on early summer days he has seen his team pale and disintegrate over the last half hour of their games and for a short while yesterday, Laois - despite the loss of a defender - were threatening to overrun them.
"We didn't seem to have it in the middle of the second half, they looked far fitter than we did. The crowd played a big part, Laois had a great crowd there and fair play to them for that.
"If they had gone another point up, it would have been dicey but then things happened for us. Sean Duignan chased a ball back to the full-back line, he followed Paul Cuddy the whole way up and that was a vital interception.
"Then we got a few good points. It could have gone any way and we are lucky to be winners. I believe that."
As for the sendings off, O'Grady was fairly balanced. "I feel sorry for PJ Peacock, captain and a very good hurler. But Willie Barrett is an experienced referee and the rules are rules.
"The second one was simple enough, a sort of lunge at the goalkeeper. And there is always pressure on the referee to balance the sides once a player is sent off."
Two weeks separate Dublin and their next big day out, a return to Croke Park and a date against Kilkenny. Can O'Grady realistically see an escape route.
"Well, Kilkenny are probably favourites for the All-Ireland. We are a long way off the pace at that level. Last time we played in Croke Park was in 1997 when we rattled Kilkenny for 50 minutes and later on they got kind of a freakish goal to win the match. "It's great for us to be back in Croke Park, but I hope it's one of those days when we get the bounce of the ball and Kilkenny have an off day. They had an off day last year and the year before. I hope it happens early this year rather than late."
