SEAN CAVANAGH BELIEVES the GAA should revisit the time-keeping issue during matches and take the responsibility out of referees’ hands.
The Tyrone captain said there was “possibly” some annoyance within the Red Hands camp about Eddie Kinsella only playing two minutes of injury-time at the end of a cracking Ulster SFC quarter-final at Clones, which Monaghan edged by 1-12 to 0-14.
Tyrone won a hop ball and were on the attack, searching for an equaliser, when Kinsella blew the final whistle after exactly two minutes injury-time.
Tyrone manager Mickey Harte, who approached the referee after the game, was incensed and then refused to deliver his post-match verdict to the waiting media.
“It’s all right talking about rule changes, but you look at rugby and the ball has to go dead,” said Cavanagh.
“Sometimes you feel that the power should be taken out of the referee’s hands and maybe the ball should go dead before the game ends.
“I know it was trialled a few years ago and it was thrown out, but sure look, some times these things go for you and sometimes they don’t. They didn’t go for us today.”
Conor McManus revealed he didn’t know until half eleven yesterday morning that he would be starting for Monaghan – let alone that he would play the whole 70 minutes.
McManus converted all six frees he stood over and was delighted to play such a big role in the game.
“Malachy gave me the nod and said if you pull up after 30 minutes or whatever, just to give what I could.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to play if I didn’t feel I could contribute. It was very much touch and go and I didn’t know how it (ankle) would react but I am just happy to get the team over the line.”
Jubilant Monaghan boss Malachy O’Rourke knew exactly what it meant to his players to get a long-awaited championship win over Tyrone.
Harte’s Tyrone had beaten many of these same Monaghan players in championship football in 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011 and 2013 and O’Rourke knew it would be a scrap to the finish.
“The players wouldn’t be human if it didn’t have some effect on you. So many people have been saying it, if you lose to the same team so many times, you come near to beating them but you don’t, it’s only natural that it would be a big relief to the players.
“When there is an Indian sign on you, you don’t just blitz it one and day and it goes. It nearly is written like this that you have to battle and scrap for every ball.
“We always knew that it was going to come right down to the wire and it would be our hunger and work rate would hopefully see us through. We are delighted that it worked out like that because it was a psychological one that we wanted to get over.”