Kilkenny took on old foes Waterford last weekend in UPMC Nowlan Park.
Liam Cahill’s side started out strong but Cillian Buckley and Billy Ryan’s goals on either side of halftime proved crucial as Kilkenny ran out 2.21 to 21 point victors.
It marked a doubleheader of good performances since the one-point loss to Tipperary last month. Taking the scalp of in-form Dublin and Waterford certainly seemed to impress four-time All Ireland Winner, Kieran Joyce. Speaking to Scoreline.ie the Rower Inistigoe man said ;
“Dublin result was a strong win, they had form coming into the game. A lot of people probably wrote Kilkenny off. It was a big performance with young lads stepping up.”
“Then Waterford, they changed around the team a bit. They are trying out lads and it worked. A lot of lads are getting game time. David Blanchfield has been very good, it has probably been the find of the league so far. Everything is positive, and you still have TJ to come back into the fold also.”
Embed from Getty ImagesTouching upon Waterford, Joyce reckons Liam Cahill and his men won’t be too disappointed with the result.
“I know Waterford had qualified already, and they seemed a bit heavy-legged. With the league going on, the guys would be doing a fair bit of physical training during the week, so the rest period may not of having a much of an impact.”
“Waterford started strong, Kilkenny then galvanized, they got some crucial scores and got themselves back into the game. A couple of mistakes from Waterford probably lead to the goals. I don’t think Liam Cahill will be too disappointed, they have some heavy hitters to come back in also.”
Embed from Getty ImagesKilkenny now go onto face Cork in the league semi-final while Waterford takes on Wexford. Looking ahead to the Championship though, we needed to know if come to the end of the championship, can the Liam McCarthy cup come back to the paws of The Cats.
“There is an All Ireland in Kilkenny every year. Especially with Brian still there. The easiest route is going straight through, to win Leinster and go to the semi-finals. I think we would find it harder going to qualifiers, with the extra game. I think they will be in the mix, there or thereabouts.”
“Kilkenny can turn the tide, they can change up their game and catch form team on the bounce as they did with Limerick. They are bringing in younger guys, like Blanchfield, they are very mobile lads.”
“The way the game is gone, the way Cork play, they play a real possession speed game. Something we have struggled with the last few years. We are getting guys who can adapt to the game, the likes of Cian Kenny, who can get around.”
Listen back to the full interview on Full Time below.