THERE WASN’T MUCH going through Kilkenny manager Brian Cody’s head as Tipperary forward John O’Dwyer stood over a free to win the All-Ireland hurling final. Given O’Dwyer’s prowess from the ground, Cody expected “bubbles” to nail the free, although he didn’t know his side wouldn’t have time to respond had it gone over.
“I didn’t realise it was the last puck of the game to be honest. He is a very good free taker so I thought he would score it and he almost did,” Cody said.
Kilkenny were one-point favourites at the start and there was little between the teams throughout as they eventually played out a thrilling draw. The fact that momentum swung wildly between the teams didn’t surprise Cody as the Kilkenny boss reckons it’s common knowledge that there is barely a puck of the ball between them.
“That’s obvious to anyone who follows the game. That’s the way it has been and that is probably how it will be the next day. It’s amazing to think that three finals in a row have gone to a replay but that is what’s happened,” Cody said.
What made the game such a compelling spectacle was that every time one side threatened to pull away, the other would come roaring right back. Kilkenny found themselves down six points during the first half, but they came back into the game after a Richie Power goal.
“Six points is nothing in hurling and you have to try and wrestle the initiative back. The lads came back into it very well and that is how the game went. We took control and then they took control,” Cody said.
While Cody will be happy by the resolve showed by his side in the first half, they also let a late lead slip to allow Tipperary to force a replay. Despite acknowledging that he had hoped Kilkenny would close out the game, Cody also mentioned the fact that Tipperary could have pulled away in the opening 35, but his side wouldn’t let them.
“Obviously you would like to [push on] but you could have said the same in reverse in the first half. It wasn’t a huge lead and there are bits and pieces of things that can happen and that is the reality of it. Hurling is like that; it’s fast and it’s furious. You can get a bit of a lead and then a goal can change that,” Cody said.
The All-Ireland final replay is scheduled for 5pm on Saturday 27 September and despite a three week wait, Cody is confident that his side will be ready once they physically recover from today’s game.
“After an All-Ireland semi-final you go away for three weeks to prepare for the final anyway so that is where we are at now. There will be a lot of recovering during the week because that game took a lot out of the players physically. There won’t be a lot of training in the meantime but we still have to get set for it,” Cody said.
