Anthony Daly: Classic Brian Cody. Vintage Kilkenny. Typical Galway.

Kilkenny just force you to do things you don’t want to but the more the game progressed, the more Galway reverted to type and old habits of playing as individuals

"You have to hand it to Cody. For all the talk that he should have walked away and that the whole thing is gone stale with him on the line again for a 24th year, Kilkenny have nabbed another Bob O’Keeffe and are back in another All-Ireland semi-final." ©INPHO/James Crombie

RTÉ had stated how much focus they were placing on the Brian Cody-Henry Shefflin face-off from the very start with their split-screens on both managers. The anticipation around the expected handshake at the final whistle seemed nearly more important than the outcome of the match. Henry was eventually forced to walk over to Cody. Henry left shaking his head. Whatever was or wasn’t said, the bitterness between the two has obviously gone deeper than we’ll probably ever know.

It was classic Cody because he never takes a backward step, no matter how right or wrong he is. And his team took their cue from that attitude on Saturday evening because Kilkenny just refused to submit. By the end, it was Galway who were screaming for mercy from Kilkenny’s headlock.