‘They wanted it and they deserve it’

KEVIN BYRNE has been with this group of players since they were U14 and knows the heartbreak they’ve felt in defeat over the years.

TWO years’ ago they lost to Tyrone at U16 and last year they lost to Kerry. This success is a culmination of all the development work they’ve done since then. First, he gave us his thoughts on the victory itself.

“I’m delighted for the girls. They’ve put the work in. This is their third All-Ireland final and they’ve lost the previous ones. The bitter taste wasn’t there today. They wanted it big time and they deserve it. They’re at it four or five years now and they deserve it.

“They put a lot of work in during the bad weather in Ballinakill and it paid off today as a team. We started before Christmas and trained away there, obviously the snow meant we didn’t do as much as we wanted.”

This is the third time Wicklow have faced Mayo this year and the first time they’ve come out successful. Byrne and his team learned from those earlier defeats and put it to good use on the big stage.

“The first blitz was organised up in Mayo against Mayo and

Donegal and we came out second in the group that day. Then we came back the next day and we played Mayo in Clane and they beat us by two points that day. We had to play Donegal in the next round and we had to beat them to get to this final and we beat them comprehensively.

“I didn’t mind the first two games against Mayo that we lost, it gave us an idea of what to do against them. The first day they beat us by a good few goals and then they beat us by only two points but we had the winning in our grasp, we just didn’t take our chances. The girls knew what they had to do today.

“They’re starting another blitz in July with more teams and it will give the girls another chance to play.”

The style of play was very impressive against Mayo with a very high standard of skill on show. Byrne is trying to instil some belief into his young players.

“The big thing is working to support each other as a team. No matter who has the ball every other player has to look for it and look to support them which you’ve seen today. If it broke down they have to fight for it, there’s no individual out there.

“They have great skill and our big thing is to make them believe in themselves. I’ve been working with them since they were U14 and once they believe in themselves they can win any game they want.

“Getting them to work together and believe in themselves is the big thing for us.”

For many of the players this is their last year at Minor level but Byrne also had special praise for a couple of U16 players he brought along to the first game against Mayo as numbers were down and they have continued to train with both the minor and U16 squads.

He is hopeful that the players leaving the underage ranks at the end of the year can go on and play for the adult Wicklow team in the league next year.