Tipperary defender Robert Byrne was delighted with his side's performance in the 3-13 to 1-16 win over Cork in the All-Ireland U21 Hurling Championship final on Sunday.
The Rebels held a one-point lead in injury time when substitute Conor Stakelum pounced on a Cork turnover before driving towards goal and slipping the ball past Ger Collins and into the back of the net.
The goal proved to be decisive for Tipperary as they held on to claim their first All-Ireland U21 Hurling Championship since 2010 when Pádraic Maher captained the Premier county to an annihilation of Galway.
Byrne was understandably ecstatic with the win over Cork and said that self-belief ultimately drove Tipp over the line.
"It was unbelievable. We knew coming on here that it was always going to be a tough battle against Cork, especially after the last day but we believed in ourselves and I think that is the main thing.
"We focused on ourselves toda and turned out champions and we're fucking delighted! Delighted!"
https://twitter.com/SportTG4/status/1033778337334939649
Byrne said after the match that the playing group took some time off following the Munster final loss to Cork and that their response to training was ultimately the difference this weekend.
"We took a week away after the disaster down in Páirc Uí Chaoimh," said Byrne.
"We sat down with ourselves and got around each other and training since then has been immense. Everyone bought in and you could say that there was five changes made but the other 19 that didn't get on could be just as good as us."
Another big weekend! Your ultimate Ireland TV guide to all of the weekend’s big sporting action is back. We have some huge GAA for you as the Allianz leagues come to an end, and there’s some big clashes across League of Ireland, the Premier League and Scottish Prem. Plus the small matter of a Carabao […]
This was a tough task… It’s one of the most talked about hypothetical teams in the GAA. What if you had to pick an All Star side made up of just one player from every county? Below is our pick for the ultimate Hurling XV under those rules exactly. Goalkeeper: Cathal Dunne (Laois) Cathal Dunne […]
Bizarre. Former Galway hurling star Anthony Cunningham has addresses the ‘wild’ rumours about his health and a cancer diagnosis. Cunningham is a two-time All-Ireland winner with the Tribesmen, and has managed both their senior hurling team and the Roscommon football team. He was recently in charge of St Brigid’s, but stepped down after the All-Ireland […]