Long-serving Kilkenny manager driven as ever in latest victory over Tribesmen
KILKENNY, having staged a trademark second-half comeback, were six points up with six minutes remaining in Sunday’s Leinster Final.
It was, effectively, all over bar the shouting. And yet there he was, Brian Cody, pacing up and down the side-line doing just that: shouting. And not the celebratory sort of shouting. This was his ‘come on ta f**k’ sort of shouting.
The Cats’ manager, with both fists clenched and arms facing downward parallel to his legs, red-faced and chest out, was geeing up his charges. As animated as he was in the first five minutes.
He wanted to, firstly, stamp out any hint of a maroon revival – Cody is well aware Galway is always capable of springing a goal or two, even that late in the game.
He also wanted to finish Galway off – and not just in this game. But he wanted to hammer them so hard that their confidence would be so shook they wouldn’t remerge as a force later in the summer.
Cody is ruthless. And he is well aware that beating Galway by 16 points lessens the likelihood of them making it to a September All-Ireland final than beating them by six points does.
Hence the sideline shouting. In the end the margin was seven. It was big enough to put a serious dent in Galway’s championship credentials but not the demoralising knock-out blow a hammering might have delivered.
For Galway, who now go into a quarter-final, there’s still hope, however slim. Cody acknowledged as much afterwards.
“Galway have a say in every championship,” he said. “For certain, Galway will have a say. I would always say that Galway are going to have a serious say. I would be amazed, if they didn’t have a say, it’s as simple as that. But there are several teams, involved in this championship still. So many very, very good teams and it’s just going to be a serious battle for everybody including ourselves and everybody else.”
And with that, he toddled off back to the winning dressing room, safe in the knowledge Kilkenny are still kings and ahead of the chasing pack.
Earlier, we got an insight into what makes the James Stephen’s club man tick. Or rather what doesn’t make him tick.
He was asked to confirm that this is his 15th Leinster title as manager; and yet seemed less informed than the questioner.
For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.