Padraic Joyce laments late free awarded against Galway

DISCONSOLATE: Padraic Joyce with his wife Tracey, daughter Jodie, aged 4, and son Charlie, aged 6, after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship Final match between Kerry and Galway at Croke Park in Dublin. Pic: Daire Brennan/Sportsfile

Padraic Joyce hit out at the decision to award Kerry a free with the scores tied late in the All-Ireland final, claiming it was a wrong call that cost Galway.

The Galway manager pointed to the 67th minute free, awarded against John Daly for a foul on Killian Spillane, as the turning point in a game that was level nine times up to then.

David Clifford converted the resulting free, the first of four late points that the Kingdom scored to win the game and their 38th title.

"To me, the most important and crucial part of the game is how they got a free when the game was 16 points apiece," said Joyce. "I couldn't get over it. From where I was standing, it looked to me like Damien Comer was pushed in the back and it should have been a free out and then he gave a free against John Daly for apparently holding his (Spillane's) hand.

"John Daly had the ball in his hand, trying to get out. The reason his hand was up high was to stop the Kerry fella's hand from going around his neck, which is what happened. Can't get over it."

Kerry manager Jack O'Connor revealed afterwards that he walked over to the site of the free to see just how difficult it was for Clifford to convert it, claiming it was a tough kick from an acute angle.

"Well, those frees are like tap overs for the likes of Clifford," argued Joyce, who referenced how Galway had just kicked two scores themselves to draw level. "It was a two-point swing for us because we had the momentum at that stage."

Joyce hailed the quality of his team's overall display despite the defeat.

"We played football to try and win the game," continued the 1998 and 2001 All-Ireland winning forward. "We went in at half-time, 8-7 ahead. Credit has to go to our defence, Liam Silke was outstanding at centre-back, he kept Sean O'Shea very, very quiet. Jack Glynn was immense on Paudie Clifford.

"We had a foothold in the game. I know we lost a few kick-outs and stuff but we fought our way into the game. Shane (Walsh) was outstanding up front, kicked some great scores. So we went in at half-time, 8-7, came out after the break and I think Kerry came at us, went a couple of points up, but we came back."

Cillian McDaid brought the scores level for the ninth time when he squared it up at 0-16 apiece, shortly before the free controversy.

"My view of it was that Kerry were attacking, Damien Comer won the ball back, went down to gather the ball and he was pushed on the ground, in the back," said Joyce. "To me, that was a free out. That was the first one missed. And the second one, it came back to John Daly, he tried to go around his man, Killian Spillane tried to tackle him, his hand went up. The reason John put his hand up was to stop the hand going around his neck. That was my view from the sideline."

Joyce then asked the media what they thought. One journalist replied that he thought it was a soft free.

"A soft free?" retorted Joyce. "Was it even a free? It was huge. A two-point swing, it was massive."

Walsh finished as the game's top scorer, booting nine points and only blotting his copybook with a couple of wides.

"He was exceptional in fairness to him," said Joyce. "He kicked nine points, left foot and right foot, he was really, really good. We probably should have got a little bit more ball to him towards the end of the game but he was exceptional.

"I know he was questioned about not scoring from play the last couple of games but he played to a system and a game plan that we had. Today, he did the same thing but we played him higher up top and he did untold damage up there. He was really, really good."

Joyce praised midfielder Cillian McDaid too and said the task now for the group is to bounce back strongly again in 2023.

"The county needs to use this as a springboard. There is a lot of good, ambitious, young players in the group. Even our older players aren't that old. We need to use it to come back stronger and see what departments we can get better in."