Galway beat Kilkenny with the last puck in Pearse Stadium and afterwards, Brian Cody prowled onto the field like a cut cat.
Referee Colm Lyons had blown his whistle to signal a 1-24 to 3-17 win for the Tribesmen but he had a bit of work to do yet. That’s because the Kilkenny manager walked up to him, collared him and seemed to demand an explanation which, presumably, revolved around the debatable last minute free the Cork referee awarded to Galway.
Cody was fuming and you could hardly blame him.
It looked like John Donnelly’s late goal had snatched a draw for Kilkenny but there was time for one more twist. Eanna Murphy lashed the puck-out down the field before the Cats had stopped celebrating and, with no time to find their bearings, with that precious point flashing before their eyes, it wasn’t long before elation was replaced by outrage.
Paddy Deegan attacked the puck-out valiantly but, with hurls flying into the air and with Monaghan going down holding his head, Lyons seemed, if nothing else, to be thrown by all the commotion. The ball broke to Tom Phelan who would have had a chance to puck the winner for Kilkenny but in a two point swing, in a call that he clearly agonised over, Lyons gave the free-in to Galway.
In the background you could see Cody’s arms out-stretched and he was surely even more maddened when Conor Cooney showed nerves of steel to slot it over the bar.
Dramatic conclusion in Galway as John Donnelly draws @KilkennyCLG level with a late goal only for Conor Cooney to slot over the winning point for @Galway_GAA deep into injury time. pic.twitter.com/Yc0cIkhmxQ
— The GAA (@officialgaa) May 1, 2022
It was a game that had no shortage of thrills and spills but there was even more drama to come. By that stage, human nature was drawing all eyes to Shefflin and Cody to see, after all those years, how the post-match hand-shake would go and it certainly didn’t disappoint.
It was raw, it was visceral and, with Cody staring Shefflin down, it was as tense a moment as we might see all season. The RTE cameras were on red-alert and they were on slow-mo then to show that there wasn’t even a word exchanged between them.
They may have shared so much success in the past but as Brian Cody so often says, sport and hurling are about the here and now. It has no place for pleasantries.
Galway won this one but here were two of the game’s foremost competitors, a glorious, inter-linked past behind them but neither prepared to give an inch for what’s in front of them.
That’s top-level sport at its finest and that’s why they’re two of the most respected figures in our game.
Conor Cooney's free wins the game for Galway as Kilkenny's injury-time goal proves worthless.
Watch highlights on the #sundaygame from 9.30pm pic.twitter.com/bFYBKfY7BV
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) May 1, 2022
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