Kilkenny coach lauds his comeback kids

KILKENNY manager Maurice Power was the first to acknowledge the tremendous resilience and courage of his side who dramatically denied Cork victory in yesterday’s drawn extravaganza.

“We were dreadfully poor in the first-half, but produced a great fight-back to level matters after falling 13 points behind. This was a tremendous achievement and it speaks volumes for the character of this team.

“Cork’s goal after half-time was a real body blow, but we managed to soak up everything they threw at us and really came out of our shell when the need was greatest.

“We are very happy to have got a second chance.”

Cork coach Johnny Keane found it difficult to conceal his disappointment. “It is very hard to take when you lose a 13-points lead, particularly in an All-Ireland final, but that is typical Kilkenny. A game is never over until the referee blows the final whistle when you are playing them.

“Of course there was a very strong wind against us in the second-half. Some of our players tired and one or two of our more prominent players did not play up to scratch.

“I suppose, in hindsight, we should have hung on, but I was really glad that there was no extra time because we would have found it difficult to motivate ourselves.”