Galway senior hurling manager Anthony Cunningham was overcome with relief at the full-time whistle of Sunday’s Final at Croke Park
A 73rd-minute piece of brilliance from Joe Canning ensured a replay.
“Whatever draw you get, whether it is the first round of a club championship or an inter-county or a club final, we're delighted to be still in it.
“If we were walking out the door and weren't in it, we would be saying to ourselves we had gone so close and maybe let it slip, but we were delighted we didn't let it slip and we will kick on from this.
“It's a huge learning curve for our team. We are a young, developing team, but it was always going to be tough against Kilkenny.”
Cunningham said a draw was a fair result for everyone.
“In an All Ireland final, if you are playing Kilkenny, or if you are playing any team in an All-Ireland final, there are always going to be times where they are dominant and then when we have periods of dominance,” he added.
“Ours was early on, in the first half, and probably the first 15 minutes of the second half. They kicked on and went ahead, but then we came back, rallied with a great goal and rallied again and could have kicked on from that. A draw was a fair result for everybody.”
