Cody hails Fogarty's performance

Aidan Fogarty might have been one of the lesser-known players in the Kilkenny senior hurling panel, but that looks set to change after his starring role in today’s All-Ireland final triumph.

In what was his first final appearance, Fogarty, an U21 All-Ireland winner in 2003, shot 1-3 to spearhead the Cats’ attack in their three-point defeat of defending champions Cork.

The 24-year-old electrical engineer completely rewired the Cork defence with a thrilling display, with defenders Tommy Walsh, Jackie Tyrrell and James Ryall, among others, stemming the tide at the other end.

Asked about the man known as ‘Taggy’ in the Kilkenny dressing room, manager Brian Cody said: “A lot of people would have been wondering who Aidan Fogarty was. In fairness, I had a massive belief in him.

“He had an outstanding league campaign for us. Then he had a bad injury and missed two months, but I knew there was a big performance in Aidan and he delivered (for us) today.”

The player himself said he was "delighted to have repaid the faith" shown in him by the Kilkenny management.

Fogarty fell foul of a leg injury during the 2006 league, and must have felt for the Cats’ star defender JJ Delaney, who was forced to sit out the final due to a cruciate knee ligament injury.

Cody surmised: “Players missing out, like JJ and Donnacha (Cody), those things happen in the game. It’s a massive personal disappointment.

“Those things can work against you but I think the injury (to JJ) added to the intensity levels of the players.

“It was a terrific display by them. If we hadn’t shown that type of intensity, we wouldn’t have won. They were calm and they were ready for it. I could sense it all week."