‘Best feeling in the world’

‘IT’S HEAD-WRECKING.’ While his teammates looked like the coolest five men inside the Aviva, thoughts were spinning inside the head of full-back turned centre-half Dale Flynn.

It seems watching a shoot-out and having no control over your own destiny is even more difficult than participating.

‘It’s a lottery, you just don’t know what’s going to happen in a penalty shoot-out,’ Flynn said.

However, life can teach you things, as can previous experiences, so while watching others finally decide the outcome on his biggest day on a soccer field was tough, the belief Flynn had in his team-mates was unwavering.

‘We have confidence in everyone taking penalties,’ he said. ‘Our last penalty shoot-out we won 5-4 as well.

‘We always know Wacker (Lee Walker) is going to save one penalty and we have the quality of players to know they won’t miss.’

Flynn believes that the refusal to fold, when things got tough for his side, is a testament to the group of players that North End have fashioned together.

‘Words can’t describe this feeling, we just knew it from the start, once we beat Michael’s we knew we had a good chance of winning it.

‘We proved it today, we never gave up, til the end of 90 minutes and then in extra-time we never gave up.

‘(We) dug deep and it was our luck on the day coming to penalties.

‘Fair play to Pike, they are a good physical side. To lose on penalties is a lottery like, but thank God we won.’

After moving to North End from Campile midway through last season, it’s been a whirlwind of success and trophies for the Wexford Oscar Traynor player.

While this was another significant step on that journey, it was undoubtedly the biggest.

‘My dream has come true to play on the Aviva now and to say I’ve a one hundred per cent record of winning in here is phenomenal like, the best feeling in the world,’ he said.

‘Goggy (John Godkin) has been fighting for this for 25 years and now he’s after getting it. I’m only after coming here the last year and a half and it’s the best move I’ve ever made.

‘The family I’m after making now is unreal. We are Junior champions, I’m just speechless.’