CORK BOSS JIMMY Barry-Murphy has criticised the decision to send off attacker Patrick Horgan in yesterday’s Munster final just before half-time.
Horgan was shown a red card by Westmeath referee after striking Limerick’s Paudie O’Brien on the back of his helmet as the players challenged for a ball in the air.
The decision had a huge bearing on the game as the teams were tied at 0-10 apiece at the time before Limerick exploited the advantage of the extra man to win out by 0-24 to 0-15 at the finish in the Gaelic Grounds.
Neither Barry-Murphy or any member of the Cork management team spoke to the media in the aftermath of the game but the Cork manager has this morning given his verdict on the dismissal to The Irish Examiner.
“It was an unbelievable decision that is all I can say. Anyone that was at the match can judge for themselves.”
It is understood that Cork will likely appeal the suspension in an attempt to have Horgan available for their All-Ireland quarter-final against Kilkenny on July 28th.
Wrong Decision
Meanwhile after yesterday’s game Cork defender Tom Kenny described the call as ‘probably the wrong decision’.
“My initial thought was that the ball hit the helmet but I wasn’t sure then with the height of the sun. The players said that Pa didn’t touch him so it was probably the wrong decision on the ref’s part.
“I know we were down to 14 men but Limerick finished a lot stronger than us. If we had 15 maybe we would have finished out the game stronger too and as winners too.
“Obviously it contributed to the final result. We will have to look at our own failings and try and move on from there.”
Limerick reaction
On the opposition side Limerick boss John Allen admitted the sending-off was ‘a major call’ but revealed his team focused on employing the spare man effectively.
“The sending off was a major call. I didn’t see it. But how often have we seen teams reduced to 14 by a sending off, playing better and winning the game.
“We decided at half-time that Richie McCarthy should be our spare man and the other players would pick up somebody, whoever was in their zone and there would be no grey areas. I think that was very significant.
“Often times when it’s 15 against 14, 15 lose. The big thing is that if there’s a sweeper there should be a very definite sweeper and everyone knows who he is, and there’s saying ‘he wasn’t my man’ and ‘it was somebody else’s man’.
“Once we decided Richie McCarthy was the sweeper we stuck to that and I suppose Cork never really looked like getting a grip on the game.”
