Michael Duignan was in tears before the game even began.
Limerick began the All-Ireland final like a house on fire. Aaron Gillane caught two balls over Daithà Burke’s head, Mike Casey left Johnny Glynn sitting on more than one occasion down at the other end of the pitch.
Cian Lynch was lording it in the middle of the field, he flicked one up into his hand because rising the ball conventionally is just too easy. Then a minute later he let fly off the ground to the joy of traditionalists all over the country.
Seamus Flanagan left Gearóid McInerney on his arse with a thunderous shoulder and Kyle Hayes was wrongly penalised for contesting in the air with Joe Canning.
From a scoring perspective, John Kiely’s men weren’t doing themselves justice with a number of poor decisions leading to wides in that first half but they would still take a lead into the dressing rooms at half-time, however, 1-10 to 0-9 the score at the break.
Graeme Mulcahy scored one beauty from play and though his goal was a gift from James Skehill, it was hard earned by the Treaty men.
One controversial incident in that first half was the shoulder charge from Johnny Glynn straight into Dan Morrissey’s face-guard. The referee awarded a free to Limerick, which sent the Galway fans all over Croke Park into conniptions.
They obviously hadn’t seen the replay because Glynn clearly led with the shoulder into the Limerick tackler’s face.
He protested his innocence to the referee, but Michael Duignan somehow felt that it shouldn’t have been a free.
“There was nothing wrong with that,” said Duignan
“I can’t see anything wrong with that…It was some hit,” said the Offaly man.
A very fair shoulder into the jaw.
