Have Tipp another miracle act in them?

In the latter stages of the 1982 Leinster hurling final, Offaly - then defending All-Ireland champions - were looking set to retain their Leinster title in a tight relatively low-scoring affair. A Kilkenny shot drifted wide and was shepherded out by Damien Martin only for the alert Matt Ruth to scoop the ball back into play for Liam Fennelly to score the only goal of the game and give Kilkenny a two-point win. The Black and Amber took the next two All-Ireland titles and became regarded as one of the great teams of that decade. Sometimes hurling history can pivot on unlikely and maybe downright unfair events.

Of course, Waterford being the victim of a goal that never was is farcical. There is nothing else to say other than you expect the most basic elements of the game to be administered properly. Counting the scores correctly is about as fundamental as it gets. Still Waterford can count themselves fortunate that Austin Gleeson did not get a red card for pulling the helmet off Bonner Maher. He did the same thing in the All-Ireland semi-final against Cork. It is tempting to ask with resignation if he’ll ever learn but then again if there are no consequences he, presumably, will continue to do this. It was also disappointing to see that what Mickey Cahill did amounts to a sending-off but still the character shown by the team to stay in the game when all appeared lost was reassuring.

 

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