Relieved Cody praises ‘team‘ effort

Kilkenny manager Brian Cody paid tribute to Joe Canning’s stunning goal for Galway yesterday, but he also saluted his own players after yet another Leinster title win.

“Joe’s an outstanding hurler, he got a great goal, but I thought Joey Holden had a great game for us at full-back. Every day you go out and take on these top class hurlers from other counties, the same way they’re doing against us.

“It’s a challenge, because in a split-second those players can score, but it’s not just an individual thing, it’s a team thing. That’s what we try to do.” Cody had more words of praise for his captain, as well as man of the match Cillian Buckley: “Joey’s got a good attitude, a good approach to the game. He’s developing well though he’s only on the panel a short time. His run to the All-Ireland club final has helped him bed into the position, but the challenge is to do it every single day.

“We have options in various players to do whatever job has to be done on a particular day, or at least we think we have, and we go with what we think.

“Cillian’s one of the most consistent players around, I thought he was magnificent today, superb, and his performances don’t dip. He has a top class attitude to the game and he continues to deliver the goods.

“We were hit by a goal before half-time, having built up a bit of a lead, and then after half-time we were rocked back by another goal. Those are serious times to be conceding goals, especially, but our reaction, our attitude was magnificent. We’re very happy.” Cody wasn’t surprised by Galway’s quality: “We got every challenge from Galway that we would have expected. Ourselves and Galway, it’s never less than a game that either team could win, and that was the same today, but thankfully we came out on top.” The experience in the Kilkenny ranks was invaluable, he added.

“It’s certainly a bonus to have players like that on the field, there’s no doubt about that, but there were also players who don’t have that kind of experience, and they also did very well.

“It’s about everybody driving forward and doing things well, doing things for the team, and that happened.

“The players now go back to the clubs for matches, that’s the way it works. We won’t be together for the whole time for certain, we’ll break it up as much as possible. The plan is to arrive fit and fresh and ready for the All-Ireland semi-final.” The Cats boss explained the late withdrawal of Michael Fennelly.

“He got sick and we thought he’d be fine, but yesterday he had a bad reaction. He has a stomach bug that didn’t improve, so he was out of the equation.

“Obviously, we’d love to have him on the field but we juggled things around a bit and it worked out.

“We’re hopeful about Richie (Power). He’s working away, working hard, though he’s having difficulty getting back. He’s a player every team would love to have back, but we’ll have to wait and see.

“Obviously, Michael (Fennelly) should be fine in a couple of days, but you can never legislate for what can happen between now and then. The next few weeks will decide what happens.”