Wexford boss Davy Fitzgerald says Leinster drama was 'not be good for the ticker'
Sunday 16 June 2019 13:23, UK
Wexford and Kilkenny played out a nail-biting draw in the Leinster Hurling Championship on Saturday night, and both Davy Fitzgerald and Brian Cody said they could not relax until it was over.
A huge evening of drama saw Galway eventually eliminated from the championship, but it could easily have been the Model County's summer that was ended if they had lost the tight affair in Innovate Wexford Park.
"It wouldn't be good for the ticker," laughed Fitzgerald after the game, speaking to Sky Sports.
"I have said from day one, the Leinster Championship is incredible. We played Dublin in the first round, and we played pretty well. I tried to tell everyone that Dublin are right up there. It was a very hard place for Galway to go.
"That's hurling. With two minutes to go here, we were out.
"The thing I love about hurling is you stay with it, you stay going and a chance will present itself. I think we deserve that."
Fitzgerald was thrilled with how his side responded to a Kilkenny surge in the second half, and after going through the Leinster campaign unbeaten, the Yellowbellies are continuing to make real progress under the Clare man.
"It's our second Leinster final in three years," he smiled. "I think we were very unlucky not to be there last year. We were only beaten by a point last year and it hurt a lot.
"So we've another date with Kilkenny. It's our fourth time this year, we'll be sick of seeing one another. But I love playing against them. You're going to get 110 per cent. If my team gives 110 per cent, you'd never know.
"I think it's a 50-50 game, and we'll look forward to it. We've nothing won today except the character and determination from either side was incredible."
Brian Cody said amidst such a nerve-wrecking evening, he is a relieved man to still be alive in the championship.
"It's easy to smile tonight, but in two weeks' time you'll be needing more than a smile," he explained.
"The battle is fierce, the challenge is terrific. I wasn't concerned about who we were going to meet in a Leinster final. I wanted to see us playing in a Leinster final, and we are, and that's the big thing from our point of view."
He did concede that he was shocked to see that the Tribesmen were dumped out of the championship:
"It's a surprise to everybody. Galway are one of the best teams in the country. They've been in the All-Ireland final the last two years. It might put an end to the talk that the Leinster Championship is an easy place to be. Galway are an outstanding team and they're out of the championship.
"I've believed in Dublin for a long time. They're not going to be in the Leinster final, but they'll be happy to still be in the championship."
However, the Cats boss wasn't aware of what was transpiring in Parnell Park until the full-time whistle was blown in Wexford.
"I had no idea of the score in Parnell Park until after the game," he said. "Somebody came in off the sideline and told me, but I hardly even heard it, being honest. Our only focus was on what was happening here.
"I knew we were still in the championship, drawing the game.
"But we couldn't know the game was going to end in a draw. It was helter-skelter stuff.
"It was that kind of a game, it could have gone either way.
"As it turns out, we're happy to have drawn the game. It gets us into a Leinster final. This is a round-robin series. It's about qualifying. We've done that, as far as I know, and we'll see where we go after this."
