Ryan revels in man of match contribution

BRIAN CODY has always lauded his opponents, no matter how inept the challenge or how heavy the defeat his side has inflicted upon them, but compliments for his own troops have been less forthcoming.

Cody’s mantra has always been about the collective so the playful punch he gave PJ Ryan on his way into the post-match press conference said much more than words ever could.

This was Ryan’s third All-Ireland success as Kilkenny’s starting goalkeeper but it was the first where he was called on to do something beyond puck out the ball.

Three times he denied Tipperary goals in the second-half and the first was the pick of the bunch.

Seamus Callanan had latched on to a clever pass from Pat Kerwick before pulling the trigger but Ryan managed to get his stick between the sliotar and its target.

Eoin Kelly and Noel McGrath were spurned in similar circumstances before the game’s end and few argued with the nomination of the Fenians stopper as man of the match.

Certainly not Cody, even if his tough love approach wouldn’t allow him to wax lyrical about the 32-year-old who was sitting across the table.

Said Cody: “The saves were vital. The art of goalkeeping is a mix of things. Sometimes goalkeepers get the opportunity to make those spectacular saves. They were outstanding reflexes.

“But there is the bread and butter of goalkeeping which is more important. The nitty gritty of all the stuff that comes in and how you handle it. We’ve been blessed that James McGarry has been doing this for so long and then PJ Ryan has stepped in and he’s doing it. Of course the saves are important too and he got an opportunity to make them.”

Cody’s reluctance to pinpoint any one player is understandable. There are a myriad of reasons why any team wins an All-Ireland final and most of them can be traced back months and years. Yet Ryan’s contribution only mushrooms in significance given the respective paths Kilkenny and Tipp negotiated prior to yesterday’s showpiece.

Liam Sheedy’s men had scored 14 goals in four games; Kilkenny’s defence had, uncharacteristically shipped six in three.

All in all, a dream day for Ryan then.

“It is. Especially being up on the border there in Johnstown. It is something we dreamed about all our lives. I wasn’t thinking about that this morning when I was coming up.

“I was saying: ‘This is the stuff dreams are made of, I want to experience it again.’ Just to be on the winning team and to win the game the way we did was great.

“I know lads were saying we hadn’t won a hard All-Ireland for the last couple of years. I suppose, to win today and the way it was done was special really.”

Impressive though they were, at the time his saves were merely particularly colourful stitches in a rich tapestry and it was only towards the end that their import truly emerged.

“Things happen fast in a game and you need a bit of luck. For the second one, Eoin Kelly slipped. If his feet hadn’t gone under him he might have busted the net out of it. Thankfully we had that bit of luck today.”

No-one can say he hasn’t earned his keep.

“I suppose it’s as busy as I have been playing for Kilkenny but the last time we played Tipp I let in four goals and the time before that I let in five goals so this was a big improvement.”

Ryan’s duties, in all probability, are not yet done. Come November he should become the first Kilkenny goalkeeper to receive an All Star since Michael Walsh in 1993.

“When James McGarry didn’t get one,” Cody laughed, “to be fair… He has to get an All Star that’s for sure. PJ Ryan is an automatic.”