'The day belongs to us' - Magilton joy as Reds win Irish Cup

Cliftonville manger Jim Magilton praised his team as they came from behind to beat Linfield 3-1 in the Irish Cup final.

Ethan McGee put Linfield in front and Sam Ashford before Hale's superb strike made it 2-1 early in extra-time and he added a third in the dying seconds.

It is the north Belfast club's first Irish Cup triumph since 1979.

"You talk about effort, you talk about pride, you talk about determination, against all the odds if you like," said Magilton.

"Our keeper and our centre-half, two people that would be unbelievable for us this season [go off injured], then we had to really dig in, go a goal behind but what can you say about a group of players that have just done so much today, it's just unbelievable, I'm immensely proud.

"I have to add that David Healy was magnanimous in defeat, it's so tough to lose a final but they were so gracious and I appreciate that but the day belongs to us and the day belongs to the fans and the players, it's just monumental."

Reds midfielder Rory Hale won the the man-of-the-match award as he captained the team to victory.

"It's brilliant! An amazing day, an amazing performance, fair play to everyone it was some shift," said the midfielder.

"We knew it was gong to be a tough game, we were underdogs but we knew it was going to be a good game plan from Jim [Magilton] and it paid off.

"I knew I had to put in a shift, that's my game. Then the quality on the ball comes second. If I wasn't everywhere then you'd know there was something up with me."

"Look at that for a crowd today, I came off with cramp but that extra singing there gave us an extra push. It gives the boys an extra push. We were dropping like flies in extra time but you just see the crowd getting us rallied up again. Outstanding!"

Linfield boss David Healy was left frustrated as his team let slip a lead to miss out on the Irish Cup after also finishing runners-up in the Premiership.

"Credit to Jim, credit to Cliftonville - they got the better of us on this occasion," said Healy.

"We started the game on the front foot, took the lead and the frustrating thing, not only today but key moments throughout the season, we haven't capitalised when we've been on top.

"Our second-half start was slow and you coulod see Cliftonville building momentum - we didn't deal with that and ultimately we were punished with the equaliser.

"Straight after the game there's frustration and disappointment. I'll leave it to others to assess my situation on what success is at the football club.

"I know what we've had this year, I know the ups and downs we've had with various things in and around the dressing room which we've kept a lid on for ther majority of the time.

"I can take positives from this season - I can also look back on quite a few negatives and that's something that we'll have to address going forward."