Cunningham: We have a bit of catching up to do

Almost an hour had passed since Anthony Cunningham shook Anthony Daly’s hand, but the toll of the occasion remained lodged in the tortured tones of the Galway manager’s voice as he pieced together the fragments of defeat.

A first half spent chasing a more honed Dublin side around the Croke Park pitch had cost his side dearly, but he ended most of his replies with expressions of intent and pointing to Kilkenny’s fate in 2012 after they lost this very game to his own side.

“Our congratulations to Dublin,” he rasped. “The better team won on the day. It took us a good while to get going. We were a bit late to the breaking ball there in the middle third. We were a bit off it.