Mayo beat Fermanagh by five points in their qualifier at MacHale Park. The margin of victory really flattered Mayo.
For most of the second half, it looked like they were heading out of the Championship. The crucial moment arrived in the 64th minute when referee Joe McQuillan awarded Mayo a penalty - they were trailing by a point at the time.
Aidan O'Shea went down easily under minimal pressure from Fermanagh fullback Che Cullen. After taking some time to consider, Joe McQillan walked towards the penalty spot and spread his arms. Fermanagh were understandably irate.
Post-match, Fermanagh manager Pete McGrath was interviewed on RTE. At the time, McGrath had only seen the incident in real time. It was at this point Marty Morrissey furnished McGrath with a replay.
It took little time for McGrath to understand the reality of what had happened.
He immediately surmised that Aidan O'Shea had taken a dive.
That was a dive. That was absolutely and totally a dive. How could a man be pushed like that and go to the ground like that with a very minimal amount of contact.
I have every respect for Aidan O'Shea, he's a marvellous footballer and I'm not saying that maybe we wouldn't have done the same thing but the referee certainly bought that one hook, line and sinker. For a team to train as diligently as we have trained, for players to commit... I'm not saying we would have won the game if the penalty hadn't been awarded but certainly in the overall context of the game, the penalty was the defining moment and that was an exceptionally soft penalty.
I've already been told that on social media the referee has been ridiculed because that was a dive. It should never have been awarded. That makes it doubly disappointing.
In fairness to Mayo they played very well in that second half, they showed all their experience, they showed all the craft and all the skill they've got. I wish them well in the rest of their summer but we in Fermanagh will be sorely disappointed but still exceptionally proud of the players.
Here's the incident via The Sunday Game.
Was this a penalty for Mayo? Cillian O'Connor has converted it, regardless of the controversy. @rteone now. https://t.co/2mhbDJIPfY
— The Sunday Game (@TheSundayGame) July 9, 2016
