Shelbourne boss Eoin Wearen toasted a Sports Direct Women's FAI Cup final glory a year in the making after watching his side overwhelm league champions Athlone Town on Sunday.
Wearen got the better of his old friend Ciarán Kilduff, who he came up against when both were playing in the League of Ireland.
Kilduff, who had led Athlone to their first ever SSE Airtricity Premier Division title earlier this month, announced that he will be stepping down from his role with Athlone, in the wake of the defeat.
"I was here last year at the final (which Athlone won, beating Shels on penalties) having a good idea I was going to get the job so you're talking maybe 12 months building up to this moment," reflected Wearen, who succeeded Noel King as head coach at Shels.
"The girls deserve this, the club deserves it. The staff have been magnificent all year.
"Me and Ciarán would know each other from our playing days, having played against each other. We've spoken a few times, I wouldn't say regularly, over the course of the year.
"We want the same things for the league, we want the same things for the players in terms of the standards. It's great to get the support we did today. Do I think it could be better? Absolutely. Even in tough conditions today, you can see the quality on show.
"I've got a lot of respect for Ciarán. It's probably fitting that we have one trophy and they have one because we've pushed each other."
Shelbourne raced into a six-goal lead in a remarkable opening half, spearheaded by former Republic of Ireland underage international Kate Mooney. She scored twice to underscore the influence she's had on this Shels team since arriving to Tolka Park in the summer.
"It's hard to sum her up," Wearen said of the striker.
"Players like that are few and far between. It's hard to find them. We're really fortunate we have Kate, and not just for her goalscoring ability. She's been fantastic over the last few months.
"It was one of those days where I think everything clicked. We prepared really well for the game, we did a few adjustments from the previous games against Athlone that we felt would help us.
"It's up to us to give the players that information, a system or a structure to play in, but for them to execute it as well they did in the first half was amazing. We were so clinical in front of goal.
"From the first minute to the last I thought we were superb."
Wearen has capped his first campaign in senior management with a trophy, having previously spent time working in the Shels underage system.
The former Bohemians, Sligo Rovers and Limerick player admitted it's been a steep learning curve, but is confident he has emerged from the last year a better manager.
"(I've learned) so much, through the good, the bad and the ugly. I'll be better for it and stronger for it and it'll hopefully help the team next year and we'll come back even stronger again.
"I'll enjoy the off-season now, or try to over the next few weeks. It's been a long nine or ten months since the season started.
"We spoke about trying to keep the ball on the ground as much as we could, play the football that we've played all year. Whenever you play against Athlone, it doesn't matter the game, it doesn't matter where it is, you have to win the battle first. They test you in ways that maybe some other teams don't."
"The players deserve it"
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 20, 2024
Shelbourne manager Eoin Wearen was delighted after watching his side complete a cup final rout against Athlone
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