Kilkenny minor boss hails battling qualities in Leinster victory of young Cats
Niall Bergin reflects on winning back to back provincial titles
Kilkenny minor manager Niall Bergin saw his team put in a massive second half display as they won back to back Leinster minor titles and he was full of praise for the spirit they showed.
“We are delighted with the win as one of our main goals at the start of the year was to get to a Leinster final and obviously win it and we are thrilled that we did,” he said. “We had to battle really hard for the victory as conditions were horrendous - I don’t know if people watching on TV realised how bad the weather was for the game.
“We were in a tough position at half-time, leading by three points with that strong wind behind us, but the way it was I’m not sure the wind really suited anybody as it was that bad.
“The lads showed great fight too which I was very pleased with.”
The Cats took their time to hit full gear, but the Kilkenny boss was always confident they’d showcase their full potential.
“We were probably a little slow to get going but we were still creating chances which was the main thing. While we weren’t converting them we were still getting in good positions.
“The lads stayed at it and they got their reward in the end,” he added.
It was in the final quarter where Kilkenny really took the bull by the horns with Cian Byrne, Ollie O’Donovan and Diarmuid Behan all finding the net to put a bit of gloss on the scoreline.
“We found a bit more space in the second half as Galway came onto us a bit more with the conditions behind them,” he said.
“We know we have finishers inside to create and score so we knew if they got enough ball then we were in with a chance.”
Kilkenny beat Galway by four points during the round-robin stages last month and the O’Loughlin Gaels man knew a similar test awaited them - which they passed with flying colours.
“It was a mental test for us as it was a totally different game to the one a few weeks ago - a high scoring one on a warm day in Nowlan Park.
“It was roll up your sleeves type of day and try and get the job done and that’s what we did - now we are into an All-Ireland semi-final in three weeks’ time.”