Eimear Ryan: Freetaking is a fickle act where bad omens always hover
STUTTERY WHEN STILL: Tony Kelly is going through a poor spell from frees. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Last weekend was a tough one for goalkeepers and freetakers, those most specialised and thankless of roles. For both these figures on the pitch, a ‘good’ performance requires nothing short of perfection. A goalie can be having a fine game with inch-perfect puckouts and flawless handling, and then one fumble or mistake can cut the proverbial legs out from under them. A freetaker can have a 90pc conversion rate and still, if their team loses by a point or two, they will lose sleep.
Both Clare and Cork toggled between freetakers, something which always makes me anxious. It’s great to have to have multiple lads capable of doing the job; not so great to flit from one to the other mid-match. Tony Kelly is an excellent freetaker but is going through a strange period where he’s deadly accurate in full flow, but stuttery from a stationary position.
