Kildare manager Brian Flanagan expresses 'phenomenal feeling of pride and delight' after All-Ireland final win

Former Kildare player Tom Donovan celebrates with Kildare manager Brian Flanagan after the Eirgrid GAA Football All-Ireland U20 Championship Final, Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

placeholder image — Former Kildare player Tom Donovan celebrates with Kildare manager Brian Flanagan after the Eirgrid GAA Football All-Ireland U20 Championship Final, Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Speaking among thousands of Kildare fans after their All-Ireland U20 Championship Final win, Kildare manager Brian Flanagan said, “It’s three years of body of work, players like Shane Farrell and Luke Killian would have joined in that first year, they have been with us since day one. I supposed at the minute you’re tired, absolutely over the moon, it’s all a bit surreal. To be able to relax and enjoy that last 90 seconds, when it went to seven points you knew we were not going to lose this.

“A phenomenal feeling, one of pride and delight and so happy for Kildare as a county, we deserve this. I know the work that has gone on behind the scenes at grassroots level. This is for everyone that has given a minute to Kildare football voluntarily over the last couple of years.”

There was no doubt Flanagan's Kildare were the better side on the day and despite a five-point lead at half-time, it was clear the Lilywhites had left a few out there.

“Everything in terms of the general flow of the game worked well. We didn’t convert, we were in at half-time at 0-9 to 0-4 and we had nine wides on the board. We just said we are getting the chances, creating them but just not converting them. If we sharpened up on that end I felt we would be okay,” Flanagan said.

One of this immediately noticeable changes for this game was the decision to push Seán Hanafin into full-forward. The chocie would prove inspired as the Naas man caused the Sligo defence endless problems.

Kildare boss explained, “You’re trying to throw something in a final that might just catch a team off guard, we were caught off guard ourselves last year when young Canavan sticks the ball in the net after 20 seconds and you think ‘Oh lord’. We wanted to be that team this year, to grasp the game and we wanted to take it to them.”

We decided the cleanest way of doing it was Niall (Dolan) out and Seán moving in and we would just kick direct for the first half. He (Hanafin) is a huge man for this age grade and is a great pair of hands.”