After 14 minutes of this evening's All-Ireland U21 hurling final, Tipperary had reason to believe that they were set to cause a minor upset against a much-fancied Cork side.
Leading 1-5 to 0-1, Liam Cahill's young men looked to have completely forgot the fact that they had convincingly lost to this Cork side only a few weeks earlier in the Munster final.
Sure enough, Cork, boasting a number of players who had featured with the senior panel this year, did come back strong, and, as the game entered injury-time it looked like it was the Munster champions who would be taking the All-Ireland crown.
A late Conor Stakelum goal turned the game on its head, however, and Tipperary secured an unlikely win. For man of the match Robert Byrne, it was almost all too much to take in.
Only a few weeks after Kerry's Paul O'Shea paid no heed to the television watershed, Byrne couldn't contain his excitement at the late victory.
Laoch na hImeartha Robert Byrne ó @TipperaryGAA
Cluiche den scoth aige!#HurlingToTheCore@TippFM @officialgaa @ballsdotie @nemetontv pic.twitter.com/G8zWNp2PHc— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) August 26, 2018
Looking exhausted after a frantic All-Ireland final, Byrne very nearly let the wrong words slip out:
It's unbelievable. We knew coming down here it was going to be a tough battle against Cork, especially after the last day. But we believed in ourselves ... turned out champions, and we're fuck... we're delighted, we're delighted.
A close shave, but you couldn't really blame him. An astonishing comeback against a team so many expected to win this year's U21 All-Ireland, Tipperary have every reason to be delighted.
