There was a shocked undercurrent to yesterday's All-Ireland under-21 final in Tullamore. The news that Kilkenny senior hurler P J Delaney was seriously injured in hospital had spread around before the throw-in.
In the circumstances, Kilkenny's victory celebrations were slightly subdued, particularly with Delaney's brother Paudge a member of the under-21 panel and in the dressingroom. He had even come on as a substitute in the second half.
The match itself was an unexpected win for Kilkenny. For the third time in eight days, heavilytipped favourites were beaten in an All-Ireland final. Kilkenny and Galway had been on contrasting sides of those upsets a week previously with Kilkenny losing the senior to Cork and Galway beating Tipperary in the minor.
Yesterday the scales were balanced a bit. Michael Gordon played a significant role for Kilkenny. Pacy and elusive, his wares had been on display with UCD up to the semi-finals of this year's Fitzgibbon Cup. Back then he rejoiced in the distinction of being a "Kilkenny footballer". Yesterday he was a thorn in the side of Galway's defence, particularly after moving to the full forwards.
"They seemed to shock us at the start with their intensity. As things went on, we kept plugging away, kept blocking and hooking - that's Kilkenny's game. Kilkenny often win games in the last 10 minutes as we proved today," said Gordon.
"We have a couple of outstanding individuals in Michael Kavanagh, Sean Dowling and Henry Shefflin. At the end of the day they pulled us through with their steadiness and calmness. They kept us going and a bit of maturity saw us through in the end."
The match swung on two events. Firstly a goal just before half-time which brought Kilkenny back into a match which Galway had dominated for the opening 20 minutes. Edward Brennan was the scorer, capping a long solo from midfielder John O'Neill - which brought charges of fouling the ball from Galway.
Secondly there was a hand injury which prevented Galway's accurate free-taker Eugene Cloonan from taking the placed balls. Noel Lane, the Galway manager, emphasised this loss afterwards.
"It came down to a battle of free-takers and I suppose the loss of Eugene Cloonan as a free-taker was a serious blow. It probably made the difference in the end as well as the goal Kilkenny got early on. Despite the dubious build-up, the goal stood and it made the difference in the end." Lane was also critical of Cloonan's experiences. "I thought he got very harshly treated all day."
That this was the county's third successive defeat in an under-21 final was further cause for gloom although Lane put a positive spin on it.
"I doubt if you'd call it a setback. It's great to be up there competing at the top. In a few years time when they're playing senior, whether they won or lost today won't really count. Sometimes losing is the real test of character."
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