THE Sunday Game’s pundits dove into the scoreboard controversy that marred the ending in a thriller between Tipperary and Kilkenny.
After a ding-dong battle it was the Premier who booked their spot in the All-Ireland final by 4-20 to 0-30.
Tipperary legend Brendan Cummins doesn’t expect Kilkenny to lodge an appeal[/caption]
Joe Canning spoke about how much of a mentality shift there is between trailing by four as opposed to three points[/caption]
However, in Croke Park the scoreboard had indicated that Tipperary’s total was 4-21 from the 70th minute on.
This was because a wide by Noel McGrath was incorrectly marked down as a point by the scoreboard operator. Crucially though, referee James Owen had the score accurate.
But the Cats can still feel aggrieved as their players would’ve been working off the scoreboard which added an unnecessary sense of panic to their play as they felt they had to chase a goal.
While analysing how the confusion arose, Brendan Cummins noted that one umpire put his hand up to catch the sliotar as McGrath’s shot went just wide while the other official signalled it was wide.
Kilkenny then had two attacks where firstly Eoin Cody and secondly John Donnelly needlessly went for goal from long-range.
Joe Canning then outlined how Kilkeny’s players clearly forced the issue as they felt they were in a bigger hole than they were in actuality.
Speaking about them thinking they were initially down by four immediately after McGrath’s phantom point, he emphasized: “Psychologically that’s huge because then you feel you have to get a goal and a point.
“When you’re only two points down you’re thinking we can tap one over and then try and win the puck-out so you can tap another one over.
“So for Kilkenny’s players, psychologically, chasing three points (that late on) is way different from chasing two points.”
Later on in the programme Canning returned to just how vital Robert Doyle’s goal-line block from Donnelly’s rasping effort had been.
The Galway great added: “He’s lucky because if they got that goal at the end of the match, Kilkenny would’ve won by the referee.
“Kilkenny would’ve been a point up yet everybody in the stadium would’ve thought it was a drawn match. So he saved the GAA I’d say!”
The GAA have launched an investigation after the incident marred what was an otherwise incredible occasion.
In a statement last night, Croke Park chiefs are awaiting referee Owen’s match report to get the bottom of the confusion.
It said: “The GAA can confirm that the official score at the end of the Tipperary v Kilkenny GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final was 4-20 to 0-30.
“The GAA acknowledges there was confusion over the final score. The CCCC is awaiting the full referees report in order to establish how the initial mistake occurred.”
LYNG GRACIOUS
Meanwhile Kilkenny boss Derek Lyng had no complaints over the result, and admitted that shipping four goals against their old foes was the killer blow.
He said: “I think when you concede three before half-time, you’re always going to be under pressure. We started the game very well.
“We were managing the game pretty well to that point and maybe a sense of panic when the first goal went in. I’m not sure.
“But credit to our players, I thought they responded really well, particularly in the second half. It looked like we got control of the game again.
“But conceding the fourth goal, you’re going to have to do an awful lot to win a semi-final when you concede four.
“If I was asked before the game if we hit 30 points, we would have said we wouldn’t have been too far off it. Unfortunately, just a few too many let in at the other side.”
