Schoolboys dreaming of future football glory will always imagine the thrill of winning a major cup final or even scoring the winning goal in a game of that stature, and while the entirety of the Preston North End squad can now at least tick off one of those boxes, one talented youngster can claim to have achieved both!
Ryan McGreevy netted Preston's crucial third goal to put his side 3-1 ahead within eight minutes of the re-start, and that gave North End the crucial cushion that helped them to withstand some late pressure when Burnley netted a second.
The first year scholar explained to PNE.com how his goal came about, and spoke of some great teamwork that has propelled PNE to glory this season. He admitted:
"The ball just dropped nicely, really, and I just put it in the back of the net. I have to give credit to Jamie Proctor who was brave and put me in to score - it was good teamwork from 'J-Proc'.
"When we played Reading at the Madejski it was great and obviously there was the disappointment of the Sunderland defeat in the FA Youth Cup fourth round so we were thinking in the dressing room about what it was like to win and score and we wanted to do it again at Deepdale and to have something to show for the season.
"I'm loving my time here at Preston and have scored a few goals up front alongside Jamie Proctor, and with Jamie Douglas there as well we've got a good strikeforce and I think we'll do alright next year.
"I've scored a few goals this season, which is great, but I don't want to take away anything from the team. They all put the work in and they create goals for me - it's a team effort.
"Jamie Hoyland, Dean Ramsdale, Nick Harrison and Matt Barrass have all been a part of it and I think they've done well this season. They've made us what we are really and have done well."
Arguably a surprise scorer of the second goal was right back Conor McLaughlin, who finished with a striker's instinct after being sent clear on the overlap following good work from Adam Barton.
The Northern Irish U19 international almost seemed surprised to have found himself in that position, but told of his delight at being presented with the opportunity, explaining:
"It just seemed that the ball managed to break for me. In some ways I was lucky to get to that stage of the pitch, but it was a decent finish from myself in the end.
"We needed that goal to give us a boost after half-time, and giving us a 2-1 lead took the pressure off us a bit. The third then nearly sealed it for us, although the referee's decision [when he chose not to dismiss goalkeeper Jack Cudworth over a debatable handball shout] at the end could have made it a bit dodgy.
"It's topped off the season for us and everyone's on a real high. Hopefully we can reach the final again next year and win it again.
"I just want to kick on from this season and try and keep improving, and want the same from the team. I need to be more consistent in my performances, which is important because the pressure will be on us next year to step up again."
Whilst the two first years still have a year to produce big performances before potentially making the next step up to the professional ranks, one man who knows he has a chance to impress with the big boys next season is centre half Dominic Collins.
In many ways, it is an emotional time for the second years, as their group is set to break up, but a boost of this magnitude can really help players like Dominic to settle in, and what's more, there's a 'small' celebration planned to commemorate the good times together.
"It's a bit bittersweet with the team being broken up, but we'll celebrate all our achievements," he announced. "We're going to be having a little bit of a night out as a group soon to celebrate everything done together, although we'll have to keep an eye on the younger ones who are still only 17!
"It's been a long winter but it has shown that with five of us getting pro deals we've done well. All the second years have worked hard and winning this final has been brilliant for us, it's capped off a decent season for us."
"We always want to play at Deepdale and the Man Utd and Burnley games have given us the opportunity to do that this week. Even though we were beaten in the former game, I thought we gave a good account of ourselves tonight and we proved why we're a good team. Even though we may not have won the league, I think we're the best side and proved that tonight by beating Burnley.
"It's more sweet with it being a derby win, not just for us, but for the fans as well. They're delighted, and for the second years with it being our last year, and one of our last competitive games together, we feel that we've done it for the lads."
The young lads have received plaudits from a man that matters, with manager Alan Irvine praising the side's response after many of the same players were involved in a tricky senior fixture against Manchester United in the semi final of the LFA Canterbury Cup just two days earlier. He explained:
"Manchester United were a bit too good for us on Monday, and that was probably to be expected in many ways, but it was an excellent game against Burnley. It was a game which we should probably have put out of sight way before the end, but a late goal from Burnley certainly put us under a lot of pressure and they had two or three chances to get an equaliser right at the end of the game.
"Nonetheless, it was a very good performance from the lads overall. A lot of them can be pleased with how they did and hopefully the fact that they've managed to win this competition will serve them in good stead for the future."
