'They never know when they're beaten' – O'Connell praises St Conleth's spirit
ST Conleth's manager Mick O'Connell was full of pride after watching his side emerge victorious following a thrilling Division 1 final against Timahoe that required extra time to separate the teams.
After an enthralling contest that swung one way and then the other, O'Connell admitted the emotions at the final whistle were overwhelming.
"What an absolutely brilliant match by the two teams. Euphoria is the way we are feeling right now.
"It could have gone either way at the end. We were up, we were down, we looked like we had won the game, and we looked like we had lost the game at different stages."
St Conleth's appeared to be in trouble early in the second half as Timahoe seized the initiative and built a commanding advantage, but O'Connell praised the resilience his players showed to force extra time.
"We showed serious battling qualities, especially in the second half of normal time when Timahoe turned the game on its head as they went into the lead after five minutes of the second half.
"We came back from five or six points down. Everything was going against us, Timahoe had all the momentum in that second half and the girls really dug in deep and showed so much heart coming back to draw the match in normal time." he continued Despite the dramatic twists and turns, O'Connell felt his side deserved enormous credit for their overall display.
"Overall, I couldn't be happier with the way we played all the way through," he said.
The St Conleth's boss also paid tribute to the depth and determination within his squad, insisting fierce competition for places has been a key factor behind their success.
"They are just a great bunch of girls. They never know when they are beaten and they never throw in the towel or give up on any given game.
"It is a huge panel that we have and at training on Tuesdays and Thursdays everybody drives on the other players. That was the hardest team I had to pick all year.
“There were 25 or 26 girls pushing hard for starting places and it is really, really hard when you have to name a team like that. That is what drives on these girls."
While delighted to lift the Division 1 title, O'Connell was quick to stress that the focus now switches firmly towards the championship.
"Any silverware that is out there is nice to win. This is only a stepping stone. It is the league and we will park that aside next week. We are four or five weeks away from the championship, which will be a whole new kettle of fish.
"There are still loads to come from this team. We are not the finished article by any means. As I said, we are only starting really. The league is over. It was a really tough league without a number of players and we are starting to get them back. We have four weeks to go, we will take every game as it comes and see where it brings us in the championship," he finished
