“The battle is on for places” – Brian Cody laments his sides wides after Tipperary loss

Kilkenny fell to a one-point loss to old foes Tipperary last Sunday.

While it is never nice to lose to the close rivals, some believe the overall performance was better than their opening clash with Antrim the week before. We even spoke with Kieran Joyce who said that manager Brian Cody would be happy all things considered. However, when we caught up with Cody he did not come across as overly impressed and highlighted the 14 wides Kilkenny got during the game ;

“We won the last day, and we didn’t win against Tipperary, so you wouldn’t be happier when you lose than when you win. It was a decent performance, a good battle. For a period they had a nice bit of a lead, and it looked like they would drive on. The response was very good for the players, they fought until the bitter end. We probably had wides with some scoreable definitely, but overall it was a very good attitude from the players. We just did not get over the line, but there were positives for sure.”

“We did create chances, some of the wides you would be thinking, they were not difficult scores themselves. It is obviously something we hope for improvement on.”

“The whole game matters, we kind of to and fro’d. The goal before halftime was not great for us and gave them a nice cushion going in. We had fought back to be pretty close, but that is the way it goes.”

With the recent end of the Club All Ireland Championship, Kilkenny should be bolstered by the return of the Shamrock contingent, however, Cody alluded to the fact that all places are indeed up for grabs;

“We are short various players, obviously the Shamrocks players. They will be coming back to us, and you always have niggles and injuries. The reality is the league is always like that, and the battle is on for places.”

“At the end of the day Championship is on in two months’ time, and everything is geared towards that. Part of that is winning matches and unfortunately, that did not happen against Tipperary.”

Next up, Cody will pit his wits against former James Stephens manager Séamus “Cheddar” Plunkett, when Kilkenny faces off in a home tie against Laois. That game is down for a 2 pm throw on Sunday the 27th of February. keep an eye on Scoreline for broadcast information next week.

Listen back to the full interview on Scoreline Extra below :