Former Tyrone footballer Enda McGinley felt James McCarthy was lucky to not be sent off during Sunday's All-Ireland final against Kerry. The Dublin captain was shown a yellow card in the 58th minute following a challenge on Kerry corner-back Graham O'Sullivan. McGinley thought McCarthy was fortunate that was the only time he was booked.
"Sometimes it's about teams finding the line," McGinley said on The Sunday Game about the physicality in the match.
"For me, Dublin found the line. Now, for example, James McCarthy probably crossed over that line, danced over that line. He got away with it.
"Any team that has won something and any team that has lost something knows there's no criticism in Dublin for finding that line. That's what you have to do win championships. Dublin probably found that line better today.
"You can quibble about the fairness of it and you can certainly quibble that there probably should have been more cards. James McCarthy was probably lucky to stay on, but they found the line, they played on it and that physicality certainly set the tone for the game."
McCarthy just after giving away a free a minute before this. No yellow card here? Has to be yellow. Arm is high and his elbow connects with O'Shea's jaw. 🤔 #AllirelandFootballFinal #gettingawaywithit pic.twitter.com/N6vDam5EpA
— Billy O'Shea (@billyoshea77) July 30, 2023
McCarthy's former Dublin teammate Paul Flynn thought some lenient refereeing from David Gough added to the spectacle.
"Gough let everything go early doors," said Flynn.
"Players are going to realise that and get stuck in. I think James McCarthy was physical. I think a lot of lads were physical but he let it flow and that made for a good game.
"The hardest thing to do when you have so many players back is sometimes you can start being lazy. It was the opposite for Dublin.
"The energy of them even though they had extra players, they were getting that hand in, sprinting back, and then they came alive once they got the turnover to burst down the other end of the pitch to counter."
30 July 2023; James McCarthy of Dublin, centre, is congratulated after the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship final match between Dublin and Kerry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile
Five-time Kerry All-Ireland winner Tomás Ó Sé added: "I think it was 10 minutes before he blew for a free. I know a lot of people are down on David, but I thought he had a good match. He got a lot of the calls right. I don't think it was a dirty match. The way he reffed it allowed that pace to be in the game.
"Kerry struggled to break down that blanket defence because not only did they have a lot of bodies inside but the heat that was being put on them [out the field]."
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