Pat Ryan praises Cork youngsters: We had 'a lot of obstacles put in our way'

Ryan said more important than underage All-Ireland wins was the return of Liam MacCarthy to Leeside

Cork manager Pat Ryan celebrates after the game with Daniel Hogan and Ben Cunningham. Picture: INPHO/Laszlo Geczo

Cork manager Pat Ryan praised the resilience of his players who bounced back from their Covid-enforced layoff in devastating form to secure back-to-back All-Ireland U20 titles.

Positive Covid cases within the Cork U20 group meant Ryan’s panel did not meet collectively for a 10-day period at the beginning of this month, their All-Ireland final preparations effectively put on hold for a week and a half as a result of these positive cases.