Leg work done, replay will be decided in players’ heads
Brian Hogan of Kilkenny recalls the end of last year’s drawn final.
“It was the strangest atmosphere I ever experienced. Even on the field afterwards it was eerie, because you’re expecting the elation of victory or the desolation of a loss.
“It was coming off the crowd, too, that uncertainty, the supporters didn’t seem to know how to react. It was only back in the dressing room that management have a quick word to refocus everything.”
One of his opponents in maroon that day echoes that view.
“I’d agree with Brian, it was a very strange experience,” says Damien Hayes. “A complete anti-climax. No winner, no loser, you’re not sure straight away when the replay will be on... it was a strange feeling.”
Hogan acknowledges there have been few inter-county teams with the experience to draw on as the current Kilkenny squad, but they were still in foreign territory.
“A replay is unique. We’d never faced that scenario before and there was definitely a bit of uncertainty the night of the drawn game — what was in store for the next couple of weeks and so on.
“But in fairness to the management, they immediately started putting a plan in place, organising those couple of weeks.
“We met on the Monday for a recovery session and management laid out the plan for the next three weeks.
“In fairness, it was pretty similar to the plan for the three weeks leading into the drawn game. You don’t have to reinvent the wheel.
“The key ingredient was mental freshness. There was no point trying to fit in a load of physical training into that three weeks — you should be at a peak of fitness for the original game, so the big issue is building yourself up for that 70 minutes. You’ve organised and built everything for the 70 minutes of the All-Ireland, so refocusing is a major challenge.”
Hayes says Galway met up on the Wednesday evening for a training session and “got back into it as normal”, but he feels the focus on a team grabbing the initiative for the replay is mistaken.
“The argument that one or other team has the initiative for the replay doesn’t stand up for me. It doesn’t matter — to a certain extent — the training you’ve done, what you’ve done in games leading up to the final. It all comes down to the battle over 70 minutes.”
Hogan agrees and offers a context to Cork and Clare’s latest meeting: “The notion of initiative is overdone, I think. On that basis you would have expected Galway to have been far better the second day last year. It’s not like Cork and Clare would have learned a lot the first day out because they’ve played each other so much this year. They’d have watched each others’ semi-finals as well, so it’s not as if there’s a lot left to discover about each other.
“But there’ll certainly be individuals on both sides who’ll feel they didn’t play to the level they can, while the lads who played well have the challenge of reaching those heights again.
“I think there’s a little too much read into one team having an advantage because they came from behind, or vice versa — it comes down to the team which can learn the most from the first day.
“Cork will look at certain aspects of their game and realise they were out of it for long stretches. They won’t want to be too far behind and hunting goals late on.
“Clare will be wondering how they let Cork back into it when they had the game sewn up at different stages.”
One variable, the reaction of two inexperienced teams to a first All-Ireland, has changed, however.
“Last year it was said that because a lot of the Galway lads hadn’t played in an All-Ireland final the first day, that that experience would stand to them for the replay — that whatever advantage we had was gone,” says Hogan.
“You can say both Cork and Clare are at the same level in terms of senior experience, but it comes back to whoever learns, and both managers are very astute in those terms.
“Jimmy Barry-Murphy will have Cork well prepared and he’s targeted areas, I don’t doubt. Davy the same.”
Hayes is also sceptical about the benefits of experience.
“I find it often counts for nothing. What you’ll often see — and I’m always saying it — is that a bit of luck will swing a game. The bounce of a ball, a refereeing decision.
“That’s where matches are won — not just All-Irelands, but matches in general.”
Hogan is consistent in his fancy for tomorrow.
“I find it hard to pick a team this year compared to other years, when you’d have a fancy for one or the other. Neither team has a lot of form behind them because they’re so young in senior terms, you’re still seeing what they’re capable of. I fancied Clare the first day though, and I’ll stick with them. But there were definitely more Cork lads who didn’t perform, there’s more in them, but I have a sneaking suspicion Clare will come through having won the U21 as well. But I’m never surprised at what Cork can do in a final, they’re well used to sealing the deal.”
Hayes also has doubts, saying: “Can Clare put in a performance at the same level as last time? Will Cork ever be as bad again? I think Cork will improve — I couldn’t see their forwards being as bad again, even though they might have won an All-Ireland with a forward line that didn’t really function. I think Cork will be better tomorrow, though. I think they’ll be more tuned in. I went with Clare for the last day, and they got to an unbelievable height for the drawn game. They’ve been an unbelievably well-prepared team thanks to Davy Fitzgerald and Louis Mulqueen, whose attention to detail is outstanding, but you’re looking for three huge performances in a row now.
“I think Cork will be better this time. I’ll go for Cork.”
