Canavan says McCarthy wrongly booked

PETER CANAVAN has admitted Kerry captain Michael McCarthy was wrongly booked in the incident involving the pair in Tyrone’s All-Ireland semi-final victory over the Kingdom in August.

Canavan also insists his clash with Seamus Moynihan in the same game which led to him going off injured and missing nearly half the All-Ireland final was an accident.

The Tyrone captain makes the comment in BBC presenter Jerome Quinn's championship digest, Sam Comes Home Quinn put it to Canavan that he seemed 'to slide into McCarthy' and that people 'read it in different ways.'

He responded: "I never got a chance to say it, but Michael McCarthy did get booked for absolutely nothing, because I don't think he even knew that I ran into him. He caught me with his elbow and I ended up getting a few stitches, but it was purely accidental as was the collision with [Seamus] Moynihan when I went over on the ankle.

"Some people were castigating him in the wrong for that," he comments.

Canavan also revealed one of the most important scores he got in this year's championship was the penalty against Down in the drawn Ulster final, and he suggested he was lucky to convert it because he hadn't practiced penalties in training. His first thought was, where was Stephen O'Neill (then out injured).

"Where's Stevie when you need him. We had kind of said it that, if there was a penalty, Stevie would be hitting it. My own clubmate Mark Harte [son of Mickey Harte] takes the penalties for Errigal, so I could have done with Sparkie being on the pitch at that stage.

"It was a pressure kick in that if it hadn't gone in, it's questionable whether or not we would have won Ulster," he continued.

"So, it was just a question of putting the head down and let's hope that Mickey [McVeigh] goes the wrong way.

"I tried to place it, with a bit of power at the same time. I was very aware of Mickey McVeigh, because he's a brilliant keeper. He's a big man and I can assure you, when you're nine points down and taking a penalty against him, you think you are taking it from 25 yards out instead of fourteen."

Canavan paid tribute to Armagh for accepting their defeat in the All-Ireland final so manfully.

"As I said in my speech, I only hope that the Tyrone players can carry themselves as well as the Armagh fellas did [as champions]. I know Mickey Harte will carry himself every bit as well as Joe Kernan. Joe has been a superb ambassador for Gaelic games, not only in Armagh but throughout the country.

"He's a fine example to everybody, as are the players."

Canavan has compiled a pictorial record of Tyrone's season, which will be formally launched in Dublin on Saturday morning, along with Mickey Harte's book, Kicking Down Heaven's Door.

Jerome Quinn's book is published by Jequibooks ([e-mail]) is on sale at stg£9.99 and 16.