Their relegation a week ago back to the first division of the league may scarcely seem the basis on which to build a bright new future, but few teams have gone down with their heads held higher than the Dundalk side which lifted the Carlsberg FAI Cup at Tolka Park yesterday.

Credit for the 2-1 win over Bohemians was due to Martin Murray for the tactical victory he scored on the day, to all of his players for a performance brimming with character and, of course, to Garry Haylock for the goal he scored in each half.

Not even the former Shelbourne and Linfield striker, though, could match the team's young captain, David Crawley, afterwards for the pride he exuded after becoming the first local man since Joey Donnelly back in 1942 to lead the club to victory in the competition.

"There are good times coming for this club," beamed the 24-year-old, who predicted they would build on yesterday's success and the UEFA Cup football it brings by bouncing straight back to the premier division next year.

"We've a strong squad of players, a lot of them local, and from what I hear they all want to stay," remarked the left back, whose brother Willie was a member of the club's 1981 cup-winning side. "We've a new stand going up and we're back into Europe. I really think this can be the start of something very big for Dundalk football club."

Asked about the reason for his side's win, Crawley admitted that he and his team-mates had defied the odds.

"We were the underdogs, we knew that, and they probably played the better football. But on the day I think maybe we wanted it a bit more and that counts for an awful lot on days like this."

Haylock, picking up the fifth cup winner's medal of his career, described it as the best of the lot.

"Because it was unexpected to be honest," he explained. "I've been privileged to be part of some very good sides and I'm not saying this is any exception, but when you went to a final with the likes of Shelbourne or Linfield you expected to win. I don't think you could say we really expected to win today."

Ten of the 23 goals the 31-year-old managed this season were scored since he signed for Dundalk midway through the campaign, but, he observed, "when I first talked with Martin in early December he said he was signing me to stop them being relegated, and so I still feel that I've failed in what I was brought in to do."

He insisted, however, that he intended to stick around for the promotion drive.

Stephen Kenny and his players, meanwhile, were predictably disconsolate after the defeat and all expressed their amazement at the fact that Simon Webb's 74th-minute challenge on Martin Reilly had been punished with a red, rather than a yellow, card.

The manager maintained that with 11 men his side might have earned at least a replay, but neither he nor his players made any real complaint about the outcome.

"Too many players simply didn't perform on the day," conceded Colin Hawkins, who counted himself amongst the offenders. "We've let the manager, board, supporters and ourselves down, because there is no reason why we shouldn't have won that match today.

"But we didn't, and in the end you just have to give huge credit to Dundalk for the way they did this afternoon."