'It is not good for the heart' - Lyng relieved to win dramatic Leinster final

Kilkenny's Peter McDonald and Timmy Clifford celebrate their Leinster final win over Wexford in Cullen Park

Kilkenny U20 boss Derek Lyng was the most relieved man in Cullen Park when referee Chris Mooney sounded the final whistle in Monday night's Leinster U20 hurling championship final.

Kilkenny legend, Lyng, watched as his side's six point lead was whittled down by a fast finishing Wexford before Jack Redmond missed a late chance to force extra-time.

“It is not good for the heart. We always knew it was going to be a battle with Wexford,” Lyng conceded after the 1-13 to 0-15 win.

“It went right to the end. Every time we got a few scores they were able to get back. They kept at it. We had a bit of luck at the end.” 

Was it a weakness on Kilkenny’s side that they couldn’t push on or was it that Wexford were just that bit too good and were never going to die without a fight?

“I think it is a bit of both. It was a Leinster final. Wexford were never going to lie down. Ideally we would have liked to kick on but we didn’t. It has been a busy couple of weeks so we have to be happy with the win,” Lyng stated.

Celebrations of a provincial title will be shortlived - the Cats now face Limerick in the All-Ireland final in a fortnight.

“They have had a couple of weeks where they have had the head down. They have been working hard for months but from Tuesday we are preparing for an All-Ireland. We are up against a terrific team. That is the challenge. We are looking forward to it,” said Lyng.

Wexford boss Keith Rossiter admitted he was 'gutted' after the defeat. 

“I thought we were back for extra-time,” said Rossiter of Jack Redmond's attempt at an equaliser which trailed agonisingly wide in the closing seconds. “Jack is a great lad. He is a really good hurler. He is a natural hurler. A natural scorer. When the ball fell to him, you would nearly put the house on him. He will learn from that. He will learn to steady himself up a bit in front of goal. No problem. We went down fighting.” 

Rossiter added: "I'm gutted for the lads. They will learn from it. This is about going forward. They are young and hopefully the experience will stand to them. We played Laois which was a dogfight. We played Dublin which was a dogfight. To play Kilkenny and lose by a point, I pray this will help the lads going forward.”