Kilkenny reaction: For several minutes the door of the Galway dressingroom remains firmly shut. Brian Cody is inside offering congratulations on behalf of Kilkenny. Normally that process takes seconds and not minutes, but Cody is making sure Galway realise the height of their achievement. They've beaten his team, his great team, and that takes time to get across.

When Cody emerges he has the drained look of a man who's been on a long and tiresome road, which he has. His future will now be a talking point in Kilkenny like never before.

He is asked where he feels it went wrong.

"Well, I don't ever blame anything on any portion of the field or anything like that," he begins. "I know the hunger was there and the genuine commitment was there. I mean 4-18 is a massive score, yeah, and would generally win a couple of matches for you.

"But it's a very difficult game to assess straight away, and people will come up with all sorts of theories about it. We got goals and they got goals, we got on top and they got on top, but it's the final score that matters. And they were just ahead of us."

Still, considering Kilkenny were 11 points down approaching half-time there has to be much to be proud about.

"Yeah, but we didn't get there at the end of the day. But I always felt that Galway would be dying to get into another hurling final.

"For ourselves it's over now. But all our players have been absolutely superb ambassadors for the game of hurling and don't owe anything to anybody.

"The commitment and pride is amazing and they're just a tremendous bunch of players to work with.

"They're all used to being in All-Ireland finals, but that's not the reality for any team. You have highs and lows, and you try to make the best of the good times. But the lows will disappear as well and they'll be hurling again."

Approaching closing time it seemed as if no one in the 39,975 attendance could rule out a Kilkenny comeback - and Cody certainly didn't: "I knew we wouldn't die and wouldn't surrender. These players just don't die. You can talk about long legs and mileage in legs and all that sort of stuff, but their commitment is absolute, and the genuineness is the great thing about it.

"I'm disappointed for them basically, because they're a savage group of players.

"I'm sure people went home thinking it was a massive game for hurling, and hurling does matter to everyone in our dressingroom. But next year's championship will come around and they'll be there again - that's the beauty of it."

Cody tried every move he knew, bringing in Richie Power and Eoin McCormack and Jackie Tyrell and Brian Hogan in an effort to halt Galway - and that even meant taking off his captain, Peter Barry.

"Yeah, but Peter has had all sorts of injuries this year. A lesser man would have packed it in long ago. All I can say about Peter is that he's a giant of a man."

So, having got to within a goal, what was his last impression?

"I didn't see anything really. I'd one eye on the clock. But we'd a chance, obviously. We were after getting goal after goal. And I knew they wouldn't give up. So when you're there fighting you have a chance."

And the future, is that for another day?

"That is for another day, yes."