Kilkenny hurling manager Brian Cody is anticipating a stern test of his new look side’s credentials against Galway after watching his team beat Offaly in the Leinster SHC.
The Cats made it two wins from two in the new round-robin format and face a daunting trip to All-Ireland champions Galway in their next fixture.
But despite seeing his side struggle at Nowlan Park, Cody saw enough from his to give him optimism for the coming weeks.
“The most important thing is to get two wins from our first two games,” Cody told OTB.
“The round-robin is set up to have the result mean everything and we mixed some very good stuff with some stuff we could probably improve on. We had a lot of wides but we created a lot of chances.
“It was never going to be easy; we knew the challenge was going to be very strong. We did well to be leading at half time and we didn’t push on as much as we wanted to.”
John Donnelly, Martin Keoghan and Luke Scanlon impressed for the hosts as they beat Offaly by 2-19 to 1-13.
And Cody believes the trio’s link-up play is something the county’s fans should get excited by.
“They are very young and they are very inexperienced but they’re decent players,” Cody said.
“I suppose what was encouraging today was us creating chances. We scored two of them but we created at least three more where normally you think we should be putting them away.
“But it was a good sign of the forward players linking up well. We had some very good play during the game. When they got the goal in the second half things got a little edgy in the game.
“But we pushed on again and we know we’re playing the All-Ireland champions next Sunday, so that’s going to be something serious.
“Galway have been in Leinster for the last couple of years and I’ve never had a problem with them having a home game like everyone else.
“It’s a fabulous game to look forward to. It’s going to be so difficult but it is something we are just looking forward to.”
Written by James Hopper
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