Setanta Cup Final Reaction

“We had to show character, not just tonight, but throughout the season and it's a reflection of the kind of fella we have in the dressing room. We suffered on and off the pitch this season”

The above is a quote from Cork boss Alan Matthews after their 2-1 victory in Saturday night's final in the Setanta Sports Cup Final. The Dubliner, who took up the reins of the club in Feburary was undoubtably one of the pivotal ingredients in the clubs saviour from examinership. How much of a just reward is it that the cup specialist managed his team to the All-Ireland trophy in his 6th cup final.

Despite winning the game, the former Longford Town manger was still keen to express his dissapointment of Ian Stokes refereeing “I don't know why the free kick was given. It was a shocking decision. It was a free-out. He hit the target but we would have expected Mark to do a bit better there.”

But Matthews also had some praise for Alan Mc Donald's side. “Fair play to Glentoran you've got to give them credit. They were certainly snapping into the challenges. We felt they were always going to be dangerous on the break when they took the lead”

While his counterpart, Alan Mc Donald was also gracious in defeat. “I got to give full credit to Cork. If I'm being honest the better team won. Overall, they shaded the game. We worked extremely hard though and we made them do it the hard way.

“For 45 minutes there wasn't much in it and there wasn't an apparent part-time and full-time difference”, added Mc Donald who was keen to express how well his players had done against a full-time outfit.

“It's no mean feat for my players to get results off of clubs like Pats and Drogheda.”

Matthews was also eager to praise his own players, especially after their second half performance. “We played much better second half. We passed well and got width into our play and stretched them. We basically kept them in their own half but they were always going to be dangerous on the break.

“I thought Liam was excellent second half. He has only trained a session and a half since the semi-final, he hasn't really been involved in anything at all. Dan Murray was also excellent”, said Matthews, as he singled out the two goalscorers in particular.

Speaking with more than a hint of elation to the gathering of reporters under the Shed End an hour after he lifted the cup, Dan Murray was also quite proud of his fellow team-mates throughout the season It was Murray's first goal in this particular tournament but it was his third time lifting a major trophy for the club he has now adapted as his own.

The atmosphere was electric throughout and the Cork captain also noted it when speaking after the game.“There's no better feeling than scoring in front of the Shed and even better on cup final night.”

“We wouldn't of gotten an atmosphere any better than that in the RDS. The amount of fans Glentoran brought down was brilliant. It made it even better. The two fans going at it made it a great atmosphere and you probably wouldn't get that anywhere else but Turners Cross” added the Cambridge born defender.

The scorer of the winning goal, Liam Kearney, probably didn't enjoy it as much after he was struck by a missile thrown from a section of the otherwise excellent Glentoran support towards the end of the game.

“It's dissapointing to see that. You can have the banter with other fans but there is no need to throw stuff onto the pitch. I thought it took away from the occasion really. Although it probably wasn't a great idea to go over near the fans when they're losing” said Kearney.

However, the man affectionately known as the 'Conna Maradona' in Leeside was keen to play it down. “There's no point talking about it because the headlines tonight should be about the win.

On his goal the winger said “It was lucky really all I had to do was poke it in.”

When questioned on the future of the players, Dan Murray was keen to outline that 'alot of the players have expressed their desire to stay at the club'. Although the captain does admit that 'the ball is in their court now' and not the players.

It would really be a shame to see players like the superb Murray leave the club he considers to be part of his life. With even Murray himself considering himself to be a Corkman.