Plenty to ponder but series alive for Croker showdown
On the one hand there was relief that no violence on the pitch marred the occasion but on the other most were disappointed with the quality of the spectacle. That was until Footballer of the Year, Bernard Brogan set the stadium alight with a brilliant goal with a few minutes left on the clock. That strike ignited his team and for the remaining few minutes we had a thrilling battle. Now we have every reason to look forward to a good second test at Croke Park on Saturday.
Both sides seemed so anxious not to engage in anything that could remotely resemble dirty play that there was barely a tackle over the 72 minutes. This lack of engagement was interpreted by many as a lack of commitment and passion. Not so I suspect. I also think the new rule of having to kick the ball after four hand-passes troubled the players. The concept is largely a game of possession and passing. In previous encounters we had some sweeping length of the field movements involving fast hand-passing, brilliant combination play and hard running. Because of this many players opted to kick the ball rather than hand-pass which would have been a better option. Consequently, much of the kicking was poor and misdirected and militated against a free-flowing skilful game.
