Kilkenny minor hurling manager Pat Hoban has revealed how the hurt of being 'ridiculed' by supporters drove his side to a nine-point victory over Dublin in yesterday's Leinster final.

The young Cats came in for fierce criticism within their own county after losing to Dublin by 11 points in the first round at the end of April, but they rectified that with a dominant display which yielded a combined 2-12 from deadly forwards Liam Blanchfield and Alan Murphy.

"We knew we didn't perform when we met a few weeks ago," Hoban said.

"We got ridiculed quite heavily in Kilkenny. Looking back on it, we actually missed a lot of chances on a very wet and dirty day.

"So we knew we weren't as bad as maybe the scoreline suggested. A lot of the people that knocked us weren't even at the game either. We knew we had more in us and we weren't lacking motivation.

"If the players needed any motivation for this one then they were definitely going into the wrong dressing-room. At the same time, motivation is one thing, you need to perform as well.

"I'm delighted for the guys because I know the hurlers they are and it was great to see them perform to their actual ability." Tweet

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