John Bannon: Maurice Deegan display erratic

Yesterdays’s All-Ireland semi-final surprised a lot of people with the quality and the sporting manner in which it was played but there were second- half incidents that took away from the spectacle.

Maurice Deegan had a good first half, highlights being his correct card for Marc Ó Sé in the 15th minute and then punishing Tiernan McCann for overcarrying. However, the rules didn’t permit him bringing the ball forward over 13 metres. Maurice brought it forward more than 20 metres.

It was in the second half where some of Maurice’s decisions lacked consistency and clarity, starting in the 54th minute when Ronan McNamee was incorrectly black carded for what was a yellow card offence. Shane Enright, unlike McNamee, escaped similar punishment for a clear black card foul and was shown a yellow card for bringing down Peter Harte in the 58th minute.