Kilkenny hang on to reach decider after surviving Dubs’ barrage
IF THE purpose of this year’s hurling Championship and games like this is to bring a little life and colour to the lives of those burdened and beleaguered by the pandemic then mission accomplished.
This was a game for the ages with more angles than the most complex of trigonometry lessons that really deserved to be watched by tens of thousands instead of just, well, tens.
Leading by 15 points at half-time and by 16 early in the second half, we suspected that Brian Cody and his Kilkenny backroom may well break out a fine Cuban cigar and enjoy the second-half. Yet an hour or so later, a rattled looking Cody presented himself to the media and spoke of his team ‘hanging on’ for a finish up.
Ultimately it was one of those textbook games of two halves,
Kilkenny bossing the first and Dublin the second. The possession count was virtually 50-50 and to roll out another cliche, a draw would have been a fair result.
But full-back Huw Lawlor emerged as the unlikely game-breaker with the long-range point in the 74th minute that would separate the sides.
It was more than Kilkenny deserved because Dublin owned that second half and tore them asunder in the closing 20 minutes to get it back to parity. Eamon Dillon was terrific, scoring four second-half points and adding badlyneeded punch to the attack.
Ronan Hayes, another sub, chimed in with a goal and when Chris Crummey followed up on Donal Burke’s initial shot with a second goal for Dublin in the 66th minute, suddenly the winning line and the Leinster final came into view for them.
We wished that after drawing level in the 71st minute through Daire Gray they could have pushed on and breasted that winning tape. We wished there could have been fans to watch it. Croke Park would have been rocking. But it wasn’t to be on either count as Kilkenny showed that old ruthless streak of theirs to grind it out.
‘As the game wore on obviously
Dublin got on top and we were hanging on at the end, that’s for sure,’ admitted Cody. ‘The object of every game is to try to win it and we won it so we’re in the Leinster final.
‘It was a good first-half performance and a poor second half. These things are hard to explain straight away. They won much more ball than we did in the second half, they won way more dirty ball and we didn’t do that.
‘Games like that take on a life of their own and we didn’t do enough to arrest it. Obviously our full-back got forward for a great point in the end and probably showed what we should have been doing more of.’
Dublin manager Mattie Kenny must have presumed at half-time that he’d have a job on his hands to pick his team up for the qualifiers.
In the end, they almost qualified for the November 14 Leinster final themselves and will take plenty of confidence and momentum into tomorrow’s back door draw.
They looked flat and off the pace at times in the first half and conceded 13th, 14th and stoppagetime goals to Billy Ryan, TJ Reid – who struck 1-10 in total – and Kilkenny captain Colin Fennelly.
That left Kilkenny 3-13 to 0-7 ahead at half-time and they were 16 clear when John Donnelly pointed in the 43rd minute.
But it was all Dublin from there and what a show they put on with subs Dillon and Hayes contributing 1-4 between them and free-taker Donal Burke consistently punishing Kilkenny indiscipline with scores from placed balls.
‘The fight they showed, the character they showed, from 15 points down and not a very pleasant situation to be in, to show that work rate and attitude, it was exceptional from the lads,’ said Dublin manager Kenny.