BOSS TOM MULLALLY said Mount Leinster Rangers are AIB Leinster club hurling champions because they played to their strengths, not because of their ‘silken skills’.
The pragmatic coach admitted that his team aren’t blessed with star talent but ‘make up for it in other ways’.
They did exactly that yesterday at Nowlan Park, scoring just four points from open play overall against Oulart-The Ballagh yet still walking away with provincial honours, the first time a Carlow club has ever done so.
“Being bigger only counts if you use it properly and there were a few balls that we won where our physique helped but you use what you have,” said Mullally.
“We mightn’t have the silken skills so we make up for it in other ways.
“We’re not under any illusions, we knew we were underdogs and while we mightn’t have played great hurling, our job was to win the game. That’s what we came to do and that’s what we did.”
Mount Leinster are just two more wins from a remarkable All-Ireland double having won the intermediate crown in 2012.
“To me, this is a special bunch of players,” added Mullally. “They pride themselves on doing things right. And they don’t get carried away with success.”
Oulart were unable to handle Mount Leinster’s physicality, particularly in the second-half which the Borris men won by five points.
But Oulart also looked nervous as they chased their own piece of club history after three final losses in a row.
Manager and Wexford legend Martin Storey was at a loss to explain the cycle of final defeats and accepted that it could be psychological.
“It’s very hard to put your finger on it exactly,” said Storey. “Is it a psychological thing? Is it a physical thing? Are we too predictable in how we play? You can come up with 10 scenarios. I’ll sit down and come up with five or six scenarios to change it for next year.”