Tommy Callaghan, 26 Apr
There was no shortage of excitement and emotion following Kildare's
back-to-back Leinster U20 triumph on Tuesday evening in Netwatch Cullen
Park, Carlow, and while the nerves were on full stretch when the game
went into extra time, players and manager Brian Flanagan said there
were confident they had what it would take at that stage.
Here is some of the reaction at the final whistle:
Manager, Brian Flanagan:
Unbelievable proud, was how manager Brian Flanagan described his
feelings after Tuesday's final.
“The lads showed the characteristics you want to see in a team when you
might be a little off, which we were for some 40 minutes, a lot of
mistakes and turn-overs but it was just the resilience and the heart,
character, they dug in so, so deep throughout that game; they always
hung in, even when things were not going our way, we were always just
two or three points adrift but once we began to turn th screw I knew we
would have that extra kick in us but there is just such a desire in
these lads to win for Kildare, you could only be so proud of them, they
were magnificent.”
Putting a bit of consistency to it, now back-to-back Leinster titles,
the manager said “we went after that this year; we did not shy away
from being champions; we want Kildare to be more consistent; we know
that Kildare win these titles every four or five years and we want that
to be more regular and be comfortable as winners and comfortable as
champions; and I though the lads shown that tonight.”
Looking forward to the semi-final, Brian said “it will take a few days
to get over this, the lads deserve a break, it has been a tough
championship; we struggled a bit at the start but gained momentum as we
went along and to be honest there is very little between the top five
or six teams in the country at this level; we will celebrate this and
then go again.”
Shane Farrell
Asked about his vital point that forced extra-time, Colm Dalton said
that he had “a very similar shot in the League, which I missed, but I
have been out a lot on the pitch practicing and I wasn't going to make
the same mistake again, that's what it means, I'm just delighted.
“Dublin are a very exciting team” added the Sallins man, “but the
experience of last year when we got over the line and that stood to us
today and thankfully we got over the line again; two years in a row,
Jack McKevitt
The delighted wing back said he felt they had a lot of pressure during
the week “and as the game went on today the pressure was building all
the time and while we were not expecting extra time, we were,
nevertheless ready for it and for penalties if need be.”
The Naas man said it was, not unexpectedly, a tough game.
“So tough; in the last five or ten minutes lads were getting cramps, we
ran out of subs, it was ridiculous; tough but thankfully we came
through it.”
McKevitt, who was one of the players who suffered cramp during extra
time added “we were all just trying to hold on to the ball, the roar of
the crowd definitely helped me on; going into extra time I felt we had
it and with the great backing we had I was confident we could get
through it.”
When we did get on top, added the former Naas CBS star, we let them
back into it again; we should have just pushed on but we kept coming
back at them and finally got the better of them.”
Ryan Sinkey:
Man of the Match Ryan Sinkey said words cannot describe the feeling and
to make it two-in-a-row was just brilliant, adding “and hopefully we
can do it again next season.”
The wing forward, who scored four points from play, said that
“physically it was very demanding; never a lot between us; up and down,
then forcing extra time and going on to win, brilliant.
“We expected this to be physical but we are in great shape; we have
done a lot of work; a lot of strength and conditioning so we were
pretty comfortable and confident going into extra time and when we got
the two point lead we were able to hold on to it to the end.”
Ryan has seen great success with his school, Naas CBS but admits this
is different.
“With the school you are playing with lads you have been in school for
some six years; with these lads we have been together for something
like six months, so very different but to be honest, class, absolutely
class.”