Paddy Langton was at the very edge of his range when, after 20 minutes of the All-Ireland under-20 final, he eyed up the posts from his own 65 yard line.
The Young Ireland’s club-man gave it a fair old welt and, from the stands anyway, it looked like he had done enough to score the point that would draw Kilkenny level on 0-6 apiece. The Limerick goalkeeper Conor Hanley-Clarke didn’t give up on it though, and like many goalies do, he threw his hurley up to bring it back down under the cross-bar.
The umpire beside him felt that it had crossed the line though and, despite Hanley-Clarke’s vehement protests, he raised his white flag. It’s a pity that, in Semple Stadium, hawk-eye only works on the basis of the posts, rather than the cross-bar.
A level of technology that would judge on whether points have passed the cross-bar is not yet in operation in Semple Stadium and even if it was, as we discovered in Croke Park in the summer of 2019, it was never really too conclusive. Brian Hogan brought down a couple of dubious ones that summer and, on the video evidence from TG4 today, and the photographic evidence from Sportsfile, this was a dubious one too.
It didn’t to seem to be a point at all.
Deir @GAA_BEO nach scór a bhí ann ❌
Today's analysts on #GAABeo say 'Níl'' to Kilkenny's controversial point #GAA #GAABeo pic.twitter.com/gFhbSnvc48
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) May 22, 2022
Limerick were always going to feel aggrieved when it turned out to be a one-point game but, to their manager Diarmuid Mullins’ credit, he was very gracious on TG4 afterwards. While disappointed with the mistake, he said he didn’t think the game came down to that one moment.
“It didn’t look like a point but I’m not going to make excuses you know. Look, we would have preferred if it wasn’t given but I don’t think it comes down to that point. It’s a poor mistake to make from the umpire but look, nobody goes out to make a mistake intentionally,” the Limerick manager said afterwards.
Lán Ama #KIKvLIM
“Kilkenny were worthy winners, we can't have any complaints!” 👌👊
Smaointí bainisteoir Luimnigh, Diarmuid Mullins@GAA_BEO | @officialgaa
#GAABEOBEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/e8ylXdtlRw
— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) May 22, 2022
“I’ll have to see it,” said Derek Lyng. I’ll have to get my head around that one. For now, there’s nothing we can do about it,” he added after the game, when he was caught on the hop by TG4 and, to be fair to him, what else could he say.
Most people would agree that it’s harder to score when the game’s in the melting pot and with ten minutes to play, when the scores were level, Kilkenny were the team who kicked onto win the game. They were the better team in those crucial moments and there’s no way you can take that away from them.
