Nothing unusual about top Cat having a spat

Away from the action and thus TV cameras, the struts, strolls, calls and cajoling of the inter-county manager are largely ignored.

As Davy Fitzgerald discovered earlier this year, their microphones can often broadcast the sentiments expressed on the sideline.

But the manager really only becomes central to a shot as an alternative to a replay during a break in play.

On Sunday, Brian Cody and Anthony Cunningham’s sideline spat was an exception not only because of its timing, in the second of three minutes of injury-time, but the close proximity of Barry Kelly’s crucial decision to the Hogan Stand sideline.

Davy Glennon’s theatrical fall to the ground in being challenged by Jackie Tyrrell infuriated Cody.

The incident occurred in front of Cunningham but so exercised was Cody that he ran down past him and across the sideline to remonstrate with Kelly before being shepherded back off the pitch by linesman James McGrath.

As Cody spoke furiously to Cunningham, TV footage showed Kilkenny trainer Michael Dempsey clearly mouthing “dive” in the Galway manager’s direction.

Cunningham was adamant that Glennon deserved the free and made a gesture towards Cody that he was talking too much.

Current Galway minor manager and former senior boss Mattie Murphy watched on at the face-off from the stand.

He was impressed with the manner in which Cunningham kept his cool throughout the game but can’t remember ever seeing Cody as excited during a game.

“I thought, watching his body language all the way through the game, that he was fairly animated,” said Murphy. “Our fellas were that bit calmer and more assured.

“But Cody has been there for so many years you definitely wouldn’t underestimate him. He’d be playing whatever card he needs to play to make sure Kilkenny are successful. But Anthony won’t be daunted.”

For his 61 Championship games and 100-plus league matches, sideline incidents involving Cody have been few and far between.

However, Sunday was interestingly the third Kilkenny draw in which the James Stephens man has found himself tussling with an opposing manager.

In the first All-Ireland quarter-final game against Clare in 2004, he and Anthony Daly jostled and swapped heated words.

In a Division 1 game last year, Daly and himself were at the verbals again when the teams played out a stalemate.

As Cody rightly pointed out following Sunday’s game, managers can get excited too.

However, there is something of a pattern developing with these incidents occurring in tight games for Kilkenny.

Murphy admits he’s often been involved in such heated arguments and can’t see the pair locking horns again to the same extent on September 30.

“I doubt it. Cody and Daly had run-ins before and Cody and (Liam) Sheedy had one too so it’s not unusual to see managers to give it on the sideline.

“We’ll all do whatever we can to win. It’s not what management is about but we all have occasions on the sideline when we let out feelings be known in no uncertain terms to other managers or officials.

“But after the match we shake hands and probably admit we’ve been out of order.

“From talking to other managers and referees, very few of them take it personally and you hope that you can still have a good working relationship.”

He argues the spat will have little impact on September 30 as repeat affairs are using less heated battles.

“Most games are won inside the whitewash. What a manager does during a game is limited. Fellas know what they’re supposed to be doing.

“It’ll have little or no bearing in the replay. You’ll often find replays aren’t as intense as the first games.

Going into the replay, Murphy feels Galway are at a slight advantage now having stood up to their more seasoned opponents in the closing stages of the game.

As he explained: “Coming out of the game, I was relieved because we could have lost it too. We’re still there and there’s no reason why we can’t go into the replay with confidence.

“For such a young team, even when Kilkenny went ahead of us we didn’t drop our heads. We’d have an advantage because of that.

“I don’t think either set of forwards functioned as a unit and both sets of backs were well on top.

“There are people talking now about how Kilkenny will be unleashed for the replay but three or four Galway forwards also definitely have more to offer.”