Though his sending off did not result in a suspension, Carlow (successfully) applied to have one of Murphy's yellow cards rescinded, perhaps in anticipation of further cautions in future games resulting in a suspension. This assumption was well founded, as Murphy found himself receiving two more yellow cards (within 60 seconds of each other) in Carlow's 1st round qualifying game against London in Ruislip. This meant that he was suspended for Carlow's 2nd-round game at home to Leitrim, after Carlow came through against the Exiles by a mere point, 0-13 to 0-12. Murphy again contributed one score. In Murphy's absence, Carlow dismissed Leitrim on a scoreline of 2-14 to 0-13, with Paul Broderick and Ciaran Moran providing the goals.