Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Grey areas in an All-Ireland final are never good

Sat, 11 Sep, 2021 - 07:00

As I watched back TV coverage of the Kerry and Tyrone semi-final, the camera panned to Mayo’s James Horan and Ciarán McDonald quietly conferring in the Hogan Stand. It took me back to 2014. They were like Kerry seven years ago, possibly expecting a different opposition to emerge from the second semi-final.

We had prevailed against Mayo in that replay in Limerick on the Saturday and drove to Dublin on Sunday morning half-planning for the Dubs as we expected them to beat Donegal. We all know what happened next and as we returned home that evening we were filled with confidence and excitement, knowing that this was an All-Ireland that was there for the taking.

I am sure Horan and McDonald had similar thoughts on their way west a fortnight ago. This isn’t to be misinterpreted as over-confidence. It’s merely cold analysis of the facts. For Mayo, Tyrone in an All-Ireland final carries zero baggage. The same can’t be said for them about Kerry. It doesn’t mean that the Ulster champions will be any easier to beat, it just means it is very doable even if that seems like an oxymoron.

The similarities with 2014 don’t end there. While it is a lifetime ago in terms of how football has evolved, much of what was relevant for us that day is true for Mayo today. Two weeks ago Kerry showed Mayo exactly what not to do. Solo into trouble, get turned over and leave the backdoor open for a counter-attack. This is providing laboratory conditions for Tyrone to thrive in.

As I mentioned here after the semi-, Kerry were turned over 30 times in the attacking third and Tyrone scored 2-9 of their 3-14 via this method. Mayo will have to guard against this. With their hard-running game, they also have a tendency to repeatedly attempt to bludgeon their way through the middle channel even if it is well manned defensively. They are guilty of turnovers in this area and one critical area that Kerry really fell down in was their reaction to these turnovers.

The problem was too often there was no reaction, which is unforgivable. Turnovers against a team like Tyrone should equal emergency stations in a player’s mind. Kerry players should have been sprinting to the tackle or back into their own half to help out defensively. Too often players just stood up and let runners go or lunged in and missed tackles.

It was mad stuff, will make for hard viewing and conversations whenever they get around to the review — but it was perfect for Tyrone. I expect Mayo to have turnovers today, as they are inevitable when playing Tyrone, but I also expect them to react much better to them as they always do.

In fact, they are excellent at immediately winning the ball back again. In 2014 when we were playing Donegal, they wanted us to do the exact same thing. They wanted to invite us on, take the ball off us and counter attack in pods of three and four into space. They also had Michael Murphy and Colm McFadden close to goal as long options from out the field, similar to Tyrone with their Mattie Donnelly-Cathal McShane and Darren McCurry axis.

After we won that All-Ireland, someone, somewhere used the phrase that we mirrored Donegal and that won the day. That became the narrative and was almost used to dismiss the win. In fact, it was much more nuanced than that, but essentially we kept our six backs in place. Two of their half forwards played as extra defenders thus freeing up two of our backs. We went one-on-one with their remaining four forwards and used Peter Crowley and Killian Young as double sweepers.

As we rehearsed this in training we tweaked their roles. Initially, they were both using the 45 as a starting point and reading the play from there but the more football we played in training the more obvious it became that both players were often unsure and there were too many grey areas. Grey areas in an All-Ireland final are never good. There has to be certainty and clarity when the heat is on. We then decided to stagger them, using Peter as a deep sweeper in front of Murphy and McFadden. His job was to help with and cut out long deliveries from out the field and double up on Donegal players close to goal. Killian’s job was to station himself on the 45m and deal with any Donegal runners that escaped our initial press further out the field. It really clarified it for both players and on the day of the game it worked. We were well set up to deal with Donegal’s counter-attack and took away a huge weapon from them. This kind of work on the training ground is the single most enjoyable part of inter-county management. Working on aspects of your game in that detail late in the season is fantastic and when it comes off on the big day is extremely enjoyable and fulfilling.

While other aspects of our gameplan didn’t work as well — in particular our long-range shooting — defensively we were really solid. The fact the game wasn’t pretty didn’t bother us, once we won. We have played in plenty of classic football matches but on All- Ireland final day winning is all that counts. If you can do it in style, that is jam on top.

Mayo will need to have some kind of security measure in place for when they lose possession today. Tyrone thrive on having space to break into, while Mayo have to take it away from them. This might sound simplistic but it is going to a huge factor in today’s game. They probably won’t be able to do what we did in 2014 with the double sweeper but I certainly expect to see someone permanently minding the middle channel as Mayo attack to guard against turnovers. A left field choice could be to designate Aidan O’Shea as that player but more than likely it will be someone like Stephen Coen.

On the Tyrone side, of the many notable aspects of their game this year the two elements that I have been most impressed with has been their hybrid middle eight players and the impact from the bench. As I mentioned before the semi-final, Conor Meyler, Kieran McGeary, Niall Sludden, Michael O’Neill, Tiernan McCann, and Peter Harte are exceptional at adapting to different roles in the middle sector of the pitch.

They can mark a man out of it, link the play, clog up attacking lanes, sweep, win breaks, serve as counter-attack runners with their athleticism and engines, supply their inside line and score. While some of them are stronger at certain aspects, they are all proficient at everything. They rotate between these roles seamlessly and to the casual eye in a seemingly ad hoc fashion. There is no such thing as ad hoc at this level of the game though and as McGeary mentioned this week, they are all given quite specific roles depending on the opposition. This can change during the game but everyone understands what is expected as they fulfil each defined role. It can be hard to play against, particularly if the opposition are trying to mark one of these players out of the game.

Secondly, the impact of their bench has been incredible. In particular Conor McKenna and Tiernan McCann against Donegal and McCann, Mark Bradley, Darragh Canavan, and Cathal McShane since. All-Ireland champions nearly always get a significant return from their bench and Tyrone may hold an advantage here, particularly if Eoghan McLoughlin does not make it back for Mayo.

Today’s final is so hard to call. So many aspects on both sides are even. Both counties even occupy the same place on the roll of honour with three All-Irelands apiece. One significant factor could be Horan’s superior All-Ireland experience in comparison to Brian Dooher and Fergal Logan in their first season. Both teams are capable of springing a surprise with their set up or starting personnel but I expect them to go with what has worked so far this season.

Mayo will have to make sure that they play for the entire match and not just the second half while Tyrone will need to avoid those costly black cards. It could be a day for one of the unsung heroes to be the difference a la Enda Hession or Conor Meyler in the semi-finals. I still can’t decide who is going to take it but a new winner for the first time in seven seasons is certainly no harm.

Kieran McGeary summed up the admirable Tyrone attitude brilliantly this week when he said ‘You see a fire, you put it out’. It speaks of a spirit that breeds success. But we also recognise that Mayo won’t lack togetherness and fight, and we will know by 7pm if they’ve finally reach the promised land or if Tyrone are once again kings of September.