Cody: Best team won
It was an unusual sensation for the Kilkenny boss as he had to go back to the 2005 All-Ireland semi-final, when Galway ambushed his charges, for the last time he had suffered a championship loss at the helm of the Cats.
But, while he has grown accustomed to speaking about relentless success, Cody maintained a dignified presence after yesterday’s encounter. This was not an occasion when he went searching for excuses and instead professed without hesitation the most accomplished team triumphed.
“We have no, absolutely no ifs, buts or maybes. To me the best team always wins the All-Ireland final and that’s the way it worked today. Tipp were excellent from start to finish. It was comprehensive. They got a good lead and we kept pegging it back. They went ahead again in the second half but we kept going at it. I’m as proud of the team today as I was this day last year.
“To me it’s about spirit and keeping going. They weren’t good enough but they kept it going. Up until a couple of minutes to go we were there, we were hunting and we were chasing. They were seven, maybe eight points up, and we got it back to three again. Our backs were driving and we kept going, so literally up to when it became impossible to do it, I was still saying ‘we can get a goal’. But they beat us. That was it.
“Tipp are an excellent team, I said it all along. We’re capable of beating Tipp some days and they’re capable of beating us some days. Today they beat us. They were excellent last year as well, they have excellent hurlers and they have excellent young hurlers coming through. They could bring on players who were not even remotely going to weaken their team so I’m not surprised by them. I’ve just come from the Tipperary dressing room and it’s a fantastic place to be. We’re lucky to have experienced that dressing room on a number of occasions. Today we just experienced the other one.”
Cody broke down the nuts and bolts of the game, considering Kilkenny’s resurgence before half-time and the chances that went amiss after the break.
“We had a couple of chances just after half-time. We could have got ahead, possibly. But, look, both sides missed chances. That’s the way it works. We were out-hurled for most of the first half. We fought like hell to get back into it and that’s not a bad place to be. But it’s about the performance over 70 minutes and it’s what you keep doing and keep doing and they did it very well. You have to defend and defend well. They attacked well, they created very good goals and it’s very hard right now to think about them.”
The build-up to yesterday’s match had been dominated by the historical implications of a Kilkenny victory. The fabled five-in-a-row was within their grasp but Cody insisted that was not a factor and that the hype in recent weeks didn’t affect the squad.
“I’ve said it many times. I’m only disappointed because we didn’t win today’s final. We could have been set up any year. People talked about three in a row, then four in a row, so I mean I don’t see that at all. 8,000 turned up (at training) last year too. We don’t close the doors so that doesn’t have anything to do with it. But I do know one thing for certain. No team keeps on winning like that forever. We appreciate what we’ve got. I keep saying that all the time. We never felt superior because we had that run, so that’s it.”
The only cloud during the post-match inquisition was when Cody was asked whether this result was a watershed and marked the end of his tenure and his side’s life cycle.
“I haven’t the slightest. What do you think? I think it’s a stupid question to be honest with you. Watershed? I don’t know what he means. Think about it, write about it, we’ll see what you come up with.”
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