"We won, and that's what we wanted: to play our game and play football. We celebrated the victory in the dressing room, but not the title. We were only focused on getting the job done today."
I thought it was so difficult to win last year because of trying to win the Masters and the Grand Slam, and then this year I realised it's just really difficult to win the Masters. Just absolutely delighted to be able to get it done.
Kosi Thompson got the scoring under way with a predatory back-post finish just five minutes into his Rapids debut, and Josh Atencio's 18-yard drive made it 2-0 only 12 minutes later.
Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain's first-half strike was enough for Martin O'Neill's side to stay within three points of Hearts, who scored twice in the last five minutes as they came from behind to beat Motherwell 3-1.
I just could not wait for the tournament to start, and this year I wouldn't care if it never did. That doesn't mean I feel any less motivated to play well, only that I'm a lot more relaxed about it.
"I just tried to approach the game the same way we did the last couple of games. Just tried to play hard, aggressive and just try to do the best for our team, so just locked in like everybody."