Daly says Dubs plan to query O’Dwyer’s sending off

Anthony Daly indicated Dublin will follow Kilkenny’s example and query Ryan O’Dwyer’s sending off for a second yellow card.

Daly, who felt referee James Owens put himself under pressure with issuing a yellow card to the Dublin forward in the second minute, was baffled by the first call and hinted the whistleblower may have considered O’Dwyer’s reputation as a tough player in his decision.

Shefflin’s second yellow card against Cork in last month’s All-Ireland quarter-final was rescinded last week.

Asked if he felt the Wexford official was attempting to set a tone early in the game, Daly said: “I don’t know. Why? Did anyone think Cork and Dublin would be dirty or something? There is no great rivalry. No great history. I don’t know. He just reacted. Would somebody else have got the yellow? I don’t know.

“I can’t talk for James Owens. I can just say how disappointed we are. Disappointed for Ryan. It’s hard on him.

“We saw it a couple of weeks ago with probably the greatest player we ever saw (Shefflin). That was rescinded. I hope the powers that be might have a look at that as well.”

Although Liam Rushe was fortunate to pick up a yellow card in the 58th minute, Daly understood the sending off will be pinpointed as the losing of the game for them.

“That’s what people will say anyway. Possibly, if we got a ball down into the square... we had Conal (Keaney) put in full-forward and he was capable of winning ball if he got it into him.

“But they broke upfield, got the goal and that was the end of it.

“(I felt we were) Still capable of getting a result out of it. We mightn’t have gotten a win. But I thought we might had sneaked a draw.

“But yeah, the red card. The referee put himself under pressure with the first yellow. The second one was a free and a yellow. I think Ryan would admit that straight away. But I was right beside the first one.

“I think it was Conor Lehane and himself, shoulder on shoulder; yellow card. But sure if you dish out one of those after a minute .... I feel sorry for Ryan. I thought he had a tremendous match. He’s given us a great year.

“Do you get the yellow on reputation because you’ve been sent off before? There was nothing malicious in what he did for the first one.”

Jimmy Barry-Murphy admitted O’Dwyer’s sending off, when Dublin were one point ahead, was a turning point in the game. “It’s always an advantage, a break to get for a team, to be honest – if you use it intelligently. Conor O’Sullivan has played that role for us, he reads the play very well and we used him as the extra man.”