Kilkenny snatched a dramatic victory against Galway yesterday in Croke Park to win the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship Final for the fourth time in a row
Cillian Buckley was the Hero for Kilkenny as they won their fourth Leinster title in a row yesterday in Croke Park. With just forty seconds remaining on the clock and The Cats trailing by two points, Buckley struck the sliotar to the net to win the game for Kilkenny.
Speaking to KCLR after the game yesterday, Lyng was delighted for the players;
“It’s a great feeling, even when you finish a game like that and win it, it’s just fantastic. I’m delighted for everyone involved, I’m delighted for the players in particular when Galway went two points up, then the ball was in the corner flag for about thirty seconds we kept fighting, it would have been easy to give up but we didn’t”
“We got the ball across and worked the goal from Cillian, who took on a great responsibility to just take it on, obviously huge relief, I felt we deserved something out of the game, it would have been a hard one on us, we kept going and I’m delighted we were on the right side of it”
Asked about his first win as Kilkenny manager and what it means to him:
“We are here to win that’s the reality of it, it’s a results business, it just gives the whole group confidence and it gives us the confidence to drive on. We got to a league final and we didn’t perform, I felt today we needed to perform, we needed to show what we’re about”
“Obviously we had a few challenges in the last 48hrs with injuries which didn’t help with the run-up to it, been talking about the panel all year, been talking to the group about the panel everybody contributing and we had a huge impact off the bench today, a huge impact from the subs, their drive in training has been fantastic and I’m delighted for them really, it was backs against the wall and we needed a contribution from everyone and we got that today”
“I haven’t fully reflected on it yet, the way the game goes now if that happens and it can happen so fast an eight-point lead is nothing in hurling anymore. They got a goal momentum swung they got another one picked off a few scores, it can change really quickly. I felt at that time we had a few poor wides with the wind especially, we made life a little bit hard on ourselves I think we missed a free around that time as well, every score at that stage is really crucial, thankfully we worked the goal at the end and we’re into a semi-final”
“I’m delighted for him personally, he’s just a huge leader within the group, and he’s disappointed not to start, he came on today and made a huge contribution, he’s a super player and a super fella around the place. I’m delighted for him personally, and I’m delighted for the group, Padraig Walsh as well made a huge impact, Timmy Clifford, Billy Drennan, and Wally obviously. We needed that today, we’ve more lads there as well we have to drive on now and get ready for the semi-final”
“Of course it does, you can’t beat winning, the feeling inside is just fantastic there’s a great buzz in there, that’s the feeling you want when you come into the dressing room after big games like that. We have another huge game in four weeks, we’ll worry about that tomorrow, you know what it’s a challenge I’m looking forward to now”
You can listen back to Derek’s full interview on Scoreline Extra at the link below
