Molloy: 'GAA players turning in their graves with games being decided on penalties'

Donegal’s first All-Ireland winning captain Anthony Molloy has slammed the penalty shoot-out between the Donegal minor side and Tyrone as “cruel, totally questionable and totally unjust”. 

Molloy added that he will be calling on his club Ardara to bring a motion or whatever means possible to this year’s County Convention, calling for an end to the controversial decision to make matches finish on the day. 

The brave minors came back from a four points deficit in extra time to force the dreaded penalties and then lost 4-3 on penalties after the sides finished level - Donegal 1-10 Tyrone 0-13 at the end of extra time. 

'Crushed' Barrett admits he thought Lady Luck was on Donegal's side

Donegal were five down with just two minutes of extra-time left in the Ulster Minor Championship semi-final only to somehow restore parity, which had the Donegal manager thinking everything was falling in their favour - only for Tyrone to prevail on penalties

“I was annoyed going over the road the last night after the minor match,” Molloy, who managed the Donegal minors to Ulster success and an All-Ireland appearance in 1996. "Are we that full of fixtures that we have to decide a minor game or any other game on penalties? “My God, is it fair first of all, to put those young lads through all that trauma and what about the young lads that missed their penalty shots? Do we have to slavishly follow soccer and I don’t think it is fair in soccer either.

“The Donegal and Tyrone lads played their hearts out for 60 minutes, and then for another 20 minutes of extra time. And then we have penalties”? 

“I would say that all the great GAA players of the past would be turning in their graves to see GAA games be decided on penalties. A replay is the best solution and if they can’t arrange that then why not have 45s?. That is more in keeping with our Gaelic games and I have nothing against other sports or Tyrone who faced the same ordeal as Donegal. For God’s sake this is just crazy.”

Tyrone take on Derry on Sunday in Clones in the curtain-raiser to the SFC final meeting of Donegal and Derry, although Molloy believes there should be more flexibility in the GAA calendar to allow for a second chance.

“Our calendar surely can’t be that full that we can’t have replays next week.” he added. “There are also big psychological effects on young lads who could have played a great game to get a draw and then one or two miss a penalty. 

“We are obsessed with rules, we have far too many rules so that we don’t know whether we are coming or going. It makes me sick sometimes and I was sick coming over the road last night. Both Donegal and Tyrone deserved at least another day. 

Unbelievable Donegal comeback leads to penalty shoot-out heartbreak

Luke Barrett's side were four points down in tonight's Ulster Minor semi-final and had only scored a point in 35 minutes as extra-time fell into injury time . They somehow pulled it from the fire, only to lose out on penalties

“It was a great game of football, natural football and most enjoyable but there is nothing natural or enjoyable about a penalty shoot-out. This needs to be changed at Congress but things are very hard to change at Congress, but that is another matter. The penalty shoot-out should be scrapped at all levels. That is not what the GAA was founded on in 1884”. 

“And this is not a case of being a sore loser as I would feel exactly the same for Tyrone if they had lost the shoot-out. I believe whoever thought up this rule had very little knowledge of how it would play out, it is totally unjust and unfair”.