U20 final: Kildare raction following Leinster U20 win over Dublin

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.”