‘I didn’t even look up at the Hawk Eye, I knew it was wide’

As John O’Dwyer leaned over to place the sliotar for that injury-time attempt, the Thurles Sarsfields defender made it his business to take up station in his wake. Ahead of them both was 100metres of turf, the Davin Stand and immortality.
For 70 or more metres of its flight, Maher watched as it zeroed in on a point between the two uprights. For 70 or more metres they were All-Ireland champions. And then they weren’t. As the stadium held its breath, Maher exhaled in disappointment.