An eery feeling crept around Croke Park as referee Barry Kelly signalled the full-time whistle and the need for a replay following today's drawn All-Ireland SHC Final, with Cats boss Brian Cody admitting it was odd that the sides would finish level for the first time since 1959.

"Obviously it's so seldom you get a draw in the All-Ireland final," he said.

"The last time was 1959 so it's a strange feeling, I'm sure for both teams, but stranger still that both games were a draw (with the Minor final between Dublin and Tipperary also finishing level). 

"It's very unusual but I'm sure a very exciting day in Croke Park for everybody.

"It beats losing. Obviously the plan was to win the game but you couldn't be satisfied with not winning, although you certainly would be very dissatisfied with losing. So it just means we start all over again, and that's it."

The Cats looked in control late in this game, but perhaps signs that a draw was on the cards came when Henry Shefflin only managed to plant a penalty shot over the cross-bar to put Kilkenny ahead by a point in the dying minutes.

"I shrugged my shoulders and said do whatever you think yourself," he said when asked had he told Shefflin to take a particular option. 

"I don't inspire Henry Shefflin what to do with penalties or whatever they are. Henry decides that himself and if he had scored it obviously, he'd be a genius.

"If it had been saved he'd be a lunatic. He gave us a score, we got a vital score and that score really mattered.

"You have to work hard, it's an All-Ireland final. You wouldn't be getting too many kudos for working hard, that's the nature of the game.

"It was a decent second half display by us after a first half when Galway were definitely the better team so we put ourselves in a position where we at least were competitive in the second half and we put ourselves back into the frame to win the game." Tweet

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