Liam Cahill: 'If Kilkenny don’t win it on the field, they ain’t going to bring it to the boardroom'

Tipperary manager Liam Cahill poses for a portrait during the Tipperary GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Final Media Conference at Horse and Jockey Hotel. Picture: Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Liam Cahill said Tipperary were fully certain Kilkenny didn’t want to contest the result of Sunday’s All-Ireland semi-final “in the boardroom”.

Cahill was in no doubt that the conclusion of the game wouldn't be brought into question by the Leinster champions despite the scoreline error, as was admitted by the GAA following the game.

Noel McGrath’s 70th minute effort towards the Hill 16 goal went wide but was adjudged by the scoreboard operators to be a point. After Kilkenny scored a point, they erroneously chased a goal to force extra-time when they were only two points down.

Speaking at Tipperary’s All-Ireland final press event in The Horse and Jockey Hotel on Tuesday afternoon, Cahill said: “It was out of our control, really. It is unfortunate. From the outset, these boys here (players) were just concentrating on getting over the line.

“Look, you can go into all the ins and out of it, there were several other passages of play, decisions that work out throughout the 74-plus minutes. The reality is that’s what big matches like that are made of and you just roll with the punches and you take the hits.

“We know Kilkenny from the start of time are a huge hurling county and I said that afterwards. Like ourselves, if Kilkenny don’t win it on the field, they ain’t going to bring it to the boardroom, that’s for sure. That’s one thing in Tipperary we were fully 100% sure of.” 

Cahill put the mistakes simply down to “human error, that’s the bottom line. A mistake was made but it had no effect on us, on what we wanted to achieve at the end of the day, which was just to get the result.

Referee James Owens and his officials deliberate over the decision after the semi-final. Picture: John Sheridan/Sportsfile

“Everybody in the GAA, we do our best to try and do things voluntary and keep things as right as we can and unfortunately it was just human error. What can be done, only move on.” 

The Ballingarry man was not aware of the issue during the game. “For me, we were going on the scoreboard. Through Declan [Laffan, selector] and the lads down the earpiece, there might have been a little query alright but for us we were playing what was in front of us.” 

On the field, Tipperary vice-captain Jake Morris was of the mind that they were three points ahead. “I didn’t know what the story was when John Donnelly was hitting that shot. We would have been three up (in my head); but to be honest you don’t even think about the score. You are just playing every ball as it comes to you.

“It all happens so quickly but I suppose there was a bit of relief when the ball ended in Bryan O’Mara’s path and he carried it out.” 

Like Cahill, Morris praised the dignity that Kilkenny have shown since the semi-final. “They are a serious, proud hurling county with some serious hurlers. They are a really good team. Derek Lyng seems to be a really good operator. It is credit to them that they didn’t make as much of a complaint out of it as they could have.

“As Liam said, it was a human error. It was unfortunate for them but it is just the way it goes sometimes. Sometimes you get the rub of the green sometimes and it fell our way last Sunday.” 

Tipperary have no injury concerns arising from the weekend. Cahill was joined at the media event by Laffan and captain Ronan Maher, vice-captain Jake Morris and O’Mara.