Kilkenny Under 20 manager has been heaping praise on his players in the wake of Sunday’s All-Ireland final win over Limerick.
The 0-19 to 0-18 point win over Limerick marked Kilkenny’s first title win at the grade since 2008, having come close against the same opposition in the 2017 championship decider.
“It was brilliant, [I’m] still trying to get over the feeling at the end. I thought we were super all the way through, we never let go. We kept chasing, kept hunting, the work was there and I’m delighted for them – a great bunch of players.”
READ: Cats triumph in Tipp to claim All-Ireland Under 20 hurling title
“We made mistakes, but we said to them at the start ‘go make mistakes, keep going, keep fighting’. We probably made life hard on ourselves as well but that’s been our theme throughout the year. But you know what? That’s the game, and I’m just thrilled for them.”
Sunday’s final proved a tight encounter with just a single point in it at halftime and the same again at full time.
“For us it was about staying in the game really because we know what Limerick were capable of doing and they’ve done it throughout the year, putting up big scores”, said Lyng.
“I knew once we were in the game, with a point or two in it at half-time, whether it was ourselves or Limerick that were up, I knew we’d be strong finishing it off because we’ve shown throughout the year that we keep going, keep fighting and hurl right to the end.”
Was there a pressure on Kilkenny to win given the fourteen-year gap in titles at U20 (nee U21) grade? Not so, says the Emeralds clubman.
“You put pressure on yourself. You want to do your best, you’re representing Kilkenny and every time you go out there you’re looking to win. There’s no more pressure than what comes with that.”
“We’ll enjoy this and we should when you get success, get a win like this, you need to enjoy these things because they don’t come around that often. All those players have good futures ahead of them and please god a lot will end up playing senior for Kilkenny at some point. It was a gutsy performance – we had Offaly, Galway, Wexford, Limerick. We’ve been tested the whole way through and it’s well deserved.”
You can listen back to how the game unfolded below or read our report here.
