On the list of life’s certainties, ‘Kilkenny never giving up’ comes a close third behind death and taxes.
Yet again, the Cats displayed that determination to fight until the final whistle that has been the defining characteristic of the Brian Cody era.
Just three weeks ago, they had turned a nine-point second-half deficit against Wexford into a one-point win.
Twice in the closing stages of today’s Leinster final, Galway pulled three points clear but they just couldn’t put a young Kilkenny side away.
Joe Canning showed he is mortal after all by missing a scoreable free and Richie Hogan came off the bench to deliver a peach of a pass to Enda Morrissey. One-point game.
TJ Reid had been late joining the pre-match parade but in the 72nd minute he was in just the right place, belting over a superb equaliser from way out on the sideline.
TJ Reid brings the Leinster Final to a replay after a dramatic equaliser in the injury-time - Watch the highlights at 9.30pm on RTÉ 2 tonight pic.twitter.com/nyMI1oQL5I
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 1, 2018
"There’s 70 minutes there on the clock for a reason," Cillian Buckley, one of the rocks of the Kilkenny defence, told RTÉ Sport after the sides had finished 0-18 each.
"It is a great sign of a team that we do staying going until the final second and that’s what it came down to today.
"To make it worthwhile we need to push on the next day and make sure we get the job done."
The next day will be Sunday in Semple Stadium rather than Croke Park – Michael Bublé is in residence at HQ - but give us a gritty struggle of a hurling match in the wrong province over a bland crooner any day.
It was certainly a contest more sprinkled with sweat than stardust.
Galway never hit their free-flowing stride but Kilkenny refused to let them, particularly in a dour first half that Cody’s men edged 0-08 to 0-07.
The scoreline was as much to do with tactics as poor shooting – though both sides seemed to have trouble aiming into the Canal End, Kilkenny hit eight of their 12 wides in the first half and Galway seven of their 11 in the second.
Gone are the days when Kilkenny take on every team in standard 3-3-2-3-3 formation – the 2016 final thrashing by Tipp and early Championship exit last year saw to that.
Here, they dropped an extra man back into defence and crowded midfield, leaving Walter Walsh, debutant Billy Ryan and Ger Aylward isolated at times.
Three Kilkenny full forwards are the only players in the Galway half at times. Making for a cagey affair. pic.twitter.com/9QS8o6Dsv9
— Eoin Ryan (@eoinryan101) July 1, 2018
It made for a scrappy encounter, marked by swarm defence and scrambles, but also served to restrict Galway’s goal chances and limit them to their lowest Championship tally since Micheál Donoghue took charge.
There was a marked increase in Kilkenny’s aggression and work-rate from the eight-point defeat to the same opponents last month.
Padraig Walsh, in particular, seemed to be everywhere – three times in the first half he outjumped taller men in maroon to catch cleanly.
Donoghue told RTÉ Sport he had expected nothing less.
"We knew it was going to be totally different from the game in Salthill," said the Galway boss.
"We have the height of respect for Kilkenny and we knew that they are renowned for bringing intensity to it."
Despite their improvement, Kilkenny still struggled for scores from play – half of their total came from frees compared to just five of Galway’s, and if Canning’s sights had been better calibrated they would not have a second chance.
Ryan was the only player aside from Reid (0-10, 8f) to score more than a single point from play whereas Galway had a red hot trio in Niall Burke, Conor Whelan and Cathal Mannion, who hit 0-03 each.
Cody is well aware that that return upfront won’t be enough the next day - his assertion that Galway will still be favourites for the replay was grounded in pragmatism as much as mindgames.
One thing is for sure though, they won’t go down without a battle.
