GAA to investigate after scoreline confusion in All-Ireland hurling semi-final
A Noel McGrath effort in the 71st minute was waved wide by the umpire but given as a point on the scoreboard, apparently putting Tipp four up, 4-21 to 0-29, at the time.
Kilkenny therefore spent the remaining three minutes of injury time thinking they needed a goal, but when Jordan Molloy pointed in the 72nd minute they would have had two more minutes to score two points and force extra-time.
The game ended shortly after Robert Doyle blocked a goal-bound shot from John Donnelly on the line.
Multiple angles later confirmed the McGrath shot had gone wide and there is no suggestion Owens awarded the score. No white flag was waved and Hawk-Eye was not consulted. But the GAA also initially complicated matters by confirming the Tipperary score to RTÉ Sport as 4-21 before later revising that.
A GAA statement said: "The GAA can confirm that the official score at the end of the Tipperary v Kilkenny GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship Semi-Final was 4-20 to 0-30.
"The GAA acknowledges there was confusion over the final score. The CCCC is awaiting the full referees report in order to establish how the initial mistake occurred."
Speaking after the game, both Kilkenny manager Derek Lyng and Tipp boss Liam Cahill confirmed that they thought the difference had been three points at the final whistle.
Tipperary will play Cork in the All-Ireland final on 20 July.
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WE MIGHT NEVER get to the bottom of The Great Scoreline Mystery of the All-Ireland hurling semi-final of 2025. Shortly after the end of the game, GAA officials were adamant that Tipperary had scored 4-21 to Kilkenny's 0-30. The press box in Croke Park, those that weren't lost in nose-picking distraction, had a late Noel McGrath shot marked down as a wide. No white flag was raised. A few eagle-eyed observers insist that an umpire waved it wide. However, the scoreboard in Croke Park ticked it up. What odds, you might say? But there is a very important principle at play here. Because the margin was three points, that meant Kilkenny had to go looking for a goal in a game in which they barely got a sniff of one. With four minutes added on, Kilkenny could have gone hunting for two points to level the game and bring it to extra-time. As it happens, they did get a sight of goal. 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The shorthand version first; the underdogs, who were priced 13/8 before the ball was thrown in, hadn't played on this pitch since the 2019 All-Ireland final when they beat Kilkenny by 14 points. We dredge up someone else's phrase here, but there has always been something of the Old Testament about Tipperary and Kilkenny that makes those involved nervous of each other. Huw Lawlor catches. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO That seemed to spread pitchside prior to the game. As the Artane Band led the teams around in the pre-match parade, Kilkenny's Shane Murphy and Adrian Mullen emerged out of the tunnel to belatedly take up their spots, followed later again by TJ Reid. Given these players are lorrying water into themselves for days prior to a game, we hereby launch a campaign for a comfort break for all players in the space between warm-up and parade. These lads aren't camels. The first three scores arrived from Reid, Billy Ryan and Martin Keogan. It took eight minutes for 0-3; in today's money that's slow scoring. Jake Morris charged through the centre of the Cats defence to offload a shot that was blocked. The ball squirted out to John McGrath who placed it in the roof of the Kilkenny net. That was answered by five Kilkenny points. Tipperary were being pegged back. The full-forward line of Keogan, Reid and Eoin Cody was functioning well against a full-back line that many in Tipp were saying Novenas for. But they got to grips with it. Conor Stakelum got their second score on 14 minutes. He got their third two minutes later. Eoghan Connolly produced a burst of three points from play from full-back. Then, a long ball into the corner evaded Jason Forde and Mikey Carey. It broke for Darragh McCarthy who made for goal with Huw Lawlor flaking away, but he squeezed his shot to the net on 22 minutes. Three minutes later, another break in that corner of the Canal End and Cusack Stand. This time McCarthy was able to scoop a handpass towards Jason Forde on his way to goal and he produced a delicate flick over Eoin Murphy to the net. For the first quarter, there was an element of 'After the Lord Mayor's Show' to the game. Now it was alive. The crowd were invested. A block anywhere near the stands always gets a good reaction, but when Alan Tynan came on for two minutes as a temporary sub for Andrew Ormond, he got a full-length block on Paddy Deegan that put the Premier support delirious. Kilkenny kept chipping away but the Tipp attack still looked lethal. Shelly worked a give and go from a puckout that he landed in front of John McGrath and Lawlor. A good old-fashioned wrestle played out but once McGrath got free he got his head down to drive the ball, but it flew over the bar. Now to Darragh McCarthy. The promising young man from Toomevara is a rare talent and reminiscent of Noel McGrath in his senior infancy. He converted Tipp's first free on 38 minutes. 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A tap on the hand of Kilkenny goalkeeper Eoin Murphy. A yellow by the book. But the sort of offence that would cause no alarm in the middle of a crowded midfield. Liam Cahill meets Darragh McCarthy after being sent off. Ryan Byrne / INPHO Ryan Byrne / INPHO / INPHO Tipp would go on to outscored Kilkenny 1-5 to 0-4 for the remainder of the game. Jake Morris hit a special. Forde converted a free that should have brought a second yellow for Paddy Deegan but instead Mikey Carey got it. Another free from Forde after Ormond was fouled brought them level. Oisín O'Donoghue entered the fray on 63 minutes. The Cashel man had a spectacular impact as he disposed Richie Reid who was making a rather, well, 'relaxed' clearance and the play ended with a bullet of a point from Forde to take the lead. It's all subjective whims and thoughts of course. But if it had been Brian Cody on the nearby sideline, you'd be tempted to think that ball might have been launched by Reid. The climax was fitting and maybe unexpected as O'Donoghue picked up a scrap of possession and, despite being surrounded by Kilkenny defenders, got a shot off that hit the top corner of Eoin Murphy's net. Related Reads 'There's a lot of drive in them' - The North Tipperary attacking stars pointing the way Absolute warfare: The return of Kilkenny and Tipperary after six years 'We won't be sitting back admiring them' - Clare plotting Déise downfall to reach semi-finals It wasn't quite a knockout blow. But the next 'score' from Noel McGrath felt it as it was chalked up on the scoreboard. Jordon Molloy got a point for Kilkenny. If the scoreboard at that point was right, then Kilkenny might have gone about things differently. Long after the game, Michael Verney of the Irish Independent texted the referee James Owens to enquire about the scoreline. '4-20 to 30 points' was his reply. Some calls were put through to the GAA media department. The same calls rang out. Eventually, Cian Murphy of the Communications Department appeared to inform all left in the Micheál O'Hehir suite that the scoreline, as suspected, was 4-20 to 0-30. The excitement and fervour of a Cork-Tipperary All-Ireland final will drown out any controversy from today. Lucky for some. * Check out the latest episode of The42′s GAA Weekly podcast here
