By Shane O’Brien

Kilkenny captain Eoin Murphy said that he hoped the Cats triumph in the New York Hurling Classic could “breed success” ahead of the 2020 season.

Murphy was talking following Kilkenny’s 24-point demolition of Limerick in the final of the inaugural New York event and said that it had helped Kilkenny end the season on a positive note.

“It’s nice to finish up here with a trophy,” Murphy said. “Any sort of trophy can breed success. The more trophies you win it seems to have a positive effect and gives you confidence going into the following year.”

Reflecting on 2019, Murphy said that the overall emotion in Kilkenny was disappointment. The two-time All Star goalkeeper said that the fact that the Cats had managed to make both the Leinster and All Ireland hurling finals and come away with nothing was a source of frustration.

“In terms of our year, we were probably slightly disappointed. We made the Leinster final and the All Ireland and we were beaten in both.

“Leinster is your province and it’s a great stepping-stone into the All Ireland so that was disappointing, but come Christmas time all anyone is going to be talking about is Tipperary.”

Murphy also said that his side’s 50-point mauling of Tipperary in the second semi-final on Saturday was scant consolation for their All Ireland final defeat in August.

“I don’t think they’re going to swap the Liam McCarthy trophy for today’s trophy,” Murphy said.

The Kilkenny netminder also said that he was an admirer of the Super 11 format and that it was a great way to grow the game in cities with strong Irish connections.

“It’s attractive to watch, especially with the number of goals going in. I wasn’t too happy with loads of them going past me but that’s just the way the game is.

“If you take your eye off it for a second you can wonder where the scores have come from.

“It’s great to come to cities like this and meet people with a strong Irish connection. It’s cool to meet people who have been over here for years and see the strong connection to Irish county teams. It is really great to be here and promote the game as much as we possibly can,” he finished.