LESSONS MUST BE LEARNED AS KILKENNY WERE HARD DONE BY

THE scoreboard fiasco is a highly embarrassing episode for the GAA — and yet it could have been much, much worse.

- By PAT NOLAN

They have Robert Doyle's reflexes to thank for the fact that it wasn't.

Scoreboard errors happen regularly at games, including those at Croke Park, but are usually corrected swiftly without any repercussions.

However, the converging events meant that, in this instance, it had a significant impact on how the game played out.

Noel McGrath's shot at a point went wide, and was signalled so, but was awarded on the scoreboard both in the stadium on and live TV.

It occurred right on the 70-minute mark. If it happened, say, 20 minutes earlier, the mistake would presumably have been corrected in good time so as not to influence how either team went about their business.

But, apparently believing they were chasing a four-point deficit instead of three, Kilkenny twice tried in vain for goals through Eoin Cody and John Donnelly, with Jordan Molloy scoring a point in between to reduce the margin to what was two points as far as referee James Owens was concerned, but three on the stadium scoreboard.