Dan Shanhan has no doubt Tipperary's 'ghost goal' did not cross the line, but the Waterford selector refused to wallow in self-pity and backed the Déise to bounce back in a "dog eat dog" Munster.
14-man Tipp outscored Waterford by 1-06 to 0-02 after the 56th minute at the Gaelic Grounds to rescue a draw.
Derek McGrath's men looked destined for a crucial win and will ask questions of themselves after they squandered such a healthy position, but there's no doubt luck went against them for a key decision.
Tipp were awarded a goal in the 62nd minute when Austin Gleeson was adjudged to have fumbled the ball over his own line. Replays suggested he hadn’t and though Waterford management could not hide their anger at the final whistle, Shanahan said it's now time to move on..
Goal for Tipp? Controversy as @TipperaryGAA get to within a point after this goal is awarded #rtegaa #TheSundayGame pic.twitter.com/10iMxPkudb
— RTÉ GAA (@RTEgaa) June 3, 2018
"Sometimes you just know by the reaction of your goalkeeper. He was adamant that it didn’t go in," he said.
"It was no goal, and it’s after costing us a point. But it’s dog eat dog in Munster, so it is.
"We’ve to come back up here next Sunday and beat Limerick now. When you’re not having any luck, you’re not having any luck. But I’m so proud of the lads.
"I think the way we performed today was massive, against a massive Tipperary team. We should have won the game.
"At the end of it, we’re a little disappointed, because no way was it inside the post.
"Look, credit to Tipperary too, they came back from 11 points down, to draw the game. It was a controversial decision that cost us. Who wants to be a referee? It’s a hard job to do. Believe me. But be consistent.
"We’re still in this Munster championship. Tipp were on a hiding coming down here, and we’re proud to have got a point out of it. We’ll park it now. That’s what we always do."
Goalkeeper Stephen O’Keeffe echoed those sentiments.
He was astonished to see the green flag raised but also praised Tipp's steel, while taking the positives from his own team's performance.
"It’s a little raw, straight after the final whistle, but a draw against a very good Tipperary team isn’t a bad result either. It does put us on the board, and still gives us a chance to make the Munster final.
"I thought our defence were very good in fairness, very aggressive in a controlled manner. We’ll just put this result behind us, which we were always going to do, win lose or draw. It’s no different now.
"Tipp are an extremely dangerous team. They got the run on us in fairness, and whatever you say about controversial decisions, they never gave up. Both teams were just hanging on."
