Burke hails character of Galway minor hurling team

“Unbelievable, it's hard to believe we’re after winning that game by a point after extra time. We were thinking about lining up the penalty takers there, we thought they'd get one chance to level it,” said Galway minor hurling manager Kenneth Burke.

“Unbelievable heart, desire and just resilience out of them there in the second half. We didn't play well and they know that themselves. We were pretty fortunate there, just on scraps. We just weren't getting to the breaks, we weren't getting enough ball.

“We said to them at halftime, we'll just stay going, no matter what happens we'll keep going to the very end."

Burke did admit that it was sweet getting over the line after losing the last two Leinster finals to Kilkenny.

“If you play Kilkenny in any final, any game, it's going to be relentless and you're going to have to withstand everything they throw at you and still believe that you can get the result,” added Burke.

Galway showed remarkable character to force extra time after trailing 3-15 to 1-9 midway through the second half. The Tribesmen hit 2-6 without reply in the final quarter to force extra time. Scores from Tadgh Mac Cárthaigh, Michael Coen and Daithi Dillon ultimately sealed the win for Kenneth Burke’s side after a tense battle in extra time.

“In fairness to the boys, they kept believing there near the end of the second half and I just can't praise them enough that they kept digging in, kept doing the simple things right as much as possible and thankfully we got the rewards there at the end.”

Galway now advance directly into the All-Ireland semi-final on June 13/14.

“It has its positives and negatives. I suppose if you're off for a few weeks you might go stale but I think we'll definitely take the break, we’ve a few knocks like I said, but we'll enjoy it and get ready for whoever comes down the line in a few weeks' time, concluded Burke.