‘Cha’: three in-a-row dream drove us

UNLIKE coach Brian Cody, Kilkenny captain James ‘Cha’ Fitzpatrick admitted that winning three All-Ireland titles in-a-row was a huge motivating factor for him and his colleagues.

“It’s easy to say it now after we have it won, but it certainly was in the back of most players’ minds going into the game,” said the midfielder who won an Irish Examiner National Junior Sports Star Award in 2004.

“Coming into the game we didn’t really talk about it — but we didn’t ignore it at the same time.