St Patrick's Athletic manager Jon Daly praised his side's resilience after their Sports Direct FAI Cup triumph over Bohemians this afternoon.
Pat's had to come from behind to claim a second Cup title in three seasons in front of another record crowd at the Aviva Stadium.
Jonny Afolabi's early penalty left them with work to do but they were level soon afterwards as Mark Doyle connected with a Jake Mulraney free-kick.
And it was another set-piece which saw them take the lead within three minutes of the resumption as Krystian Nowak could only direct another Mulraney free-kick past his own keeper.
Tommy Lonergan put the icing on the cake inside the last five minutes to hand Daly a first trophy in his six-month stint on the Emmet Road.
"They've gone a goal down today," he pointed out.
"It would have been very, very easy, in front of a massive crowd, to get into their shell but I think they stood up to it and got themselves back in off a set-play.
"It's two set-plays that swing the game on its head and give us the foothold to go forward and try and win the game.
"The crowd was sensational. Record-breaking numbers and it's how the players cope with that and they did it really well."
"It's a fantastic feeling" - Jon Daly thought set-pieces were crucial to St Pat's #FAICupfinal victory
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Bohs had plenty of chances through the game, as Jordan Flores forced a good save out of Dean Lyness, before seeing a free-kick clip the edge of the post as they chased the game.
Daly though was happy with how his players set about their task of nullifying Bohs' danger men.
"We knew going into the game, Afolabi, Connolly, Grant and Clarke especially are massive players for Bohs. If you can stop them you give yourself the best chance of winning the game.
"Lenny (Jamie Lennon) was tasked with taking care of Clarke and making sure that he didn't have a massive impact on the game. He did that and more."
St Pat's began the game with a young starting XI - just four were over the age of 25 - and a knock forced Daly to take off his most experienced outfield player in Chris Forrester during the second half. On top of that, Doyle and Mulraney also picked up knocks.
Three of the players he brought on are still teenagers - Mason Melia, Adam Murphy and Lonergan - but Pat's were able to show that you certainly can win trophies with the youth.
"I probably wasn't going to make that change first," he said of bringing on 16-year-old Melia, who signed a new three-year deal this week.
"When Mark Doyle was down I was talking to Anto Breslin about what I was going to do because I thought it was a bit early for Mason - Anto looked at me as if I had 10 heads!
"So I was like, 'you're right, let's do it.' I was probably overthinking it about the occasion, and can a 16-year-old go on and deal with that. I thought he was excellent.
"Before the game you're speaking about different scenarios, not necessarily substitutes but finishers coming on and impacting the game. Every substitute for us today was excellent.
"Alex Nolan was different class and Tommy Lonergan coming on to score a fantastic goal to seal it, and knock the wind out of Bohs' sails. When that goal goes in all the Bohs players are on their knees and it looks as if they've accepted it.
"Sam Curtis, still 17, and I knew he would take to it like a duck to water. He's going to have a big career wherever he goes. We'll try and convince him tonight to stay on for another few years but we'll see what happens with that.
"If you give young players the belief the structure... myself and the staff, we put in a lot of work. Attention to detail, we make sure there's no grey areas with them and that they all have a clear idea of what we're looking for."
Bohemians manager Declan Devine felt the better team won on the day and was disappointed with his side's defending
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For Bohemians manager Declan Devine, it was a case of shipping not just a Cup final defeat, but of also seeing their chances of European participation slip through their fingers.
The Derry native was particularly irked at the way they defended free-kicks, with two of Pat's goals coming from them.
"Hugely disappointed is an understatement," he said afterwards.
"We prepared well all week and I thought we came into it with a real opportunity. We didn't work hard enough in the first half, especially when we took the lead. [Joe] Redmond and [David] Norman dictated the game, and we played at their tempo, after we scored.
"The set-pieces were not acceptable. You can't win anything if you don't defend set-pieces properly. It's been a bit of an Achilles heel all season.
"Especially over recent months it's something that we haven't dealt with very well. In League of Ireland football it's a huge aspect of winning games."
The game was in the melting pot at the break, but Devine believed that his players shot themselves in the foot with the way they came out after the break.
"At the start of the second half we've control of the ball from the kick off and it's just not acceptable the way we started the second half.
"Full credit to St Pat's, they took their opportunities; We had opportunities but didn't take them.
"I can't fault this group of players, they've worked extremely hard this year, but there's certainly a lot that will have to be learnt in terms of bringing success back to the club because you certainly have to defend better than what we did today.
"The buck stops with me. I can't fault their effort, commitment or desire. For passages of the game we were good at what we do, moving the ball and being penetrative, but the end product was off today.
"It's real hammer blow, especially with so many supporters here. The nation watching, family all here, so it's just disappointing, a tough one to take.
"I really believed we had a good opportunity here today but full credit to Jon and his team, they did their work well."
