Operation shutdown
THERE’S enough scoring power in the Kerry forward line to make any defence tremble, but one man seems to fill the Kingdom’s opponents with particular fear. John Maughan and company aren’t alone in trying to work out how to stop Colm Cooper.
One of the coaches who faced that quandary this year is in an unusual position; having plotted to hold Cooper in July while managing Limerick, Kerry native Liam Kearns will be cheering on his county men tomorrow. His perspective on the threat Cooper poses is pragmatic: “Your first option when planning to hold Colm is to hope the man who’s picking him up will handle him, one-to-one, but if he’s beating his man you’ve got to consider other options.”
One of those options is to set a player in front of the full-back line to screen the supply, and Cork coach Billy Morgan sees that as a possibility: “One option would be to let a defender sweep up in front of Colm, to intercept the ball coming into him once it’s played in. I wouldn’t say no to that as an option, and Limerick had some success with that tactic this year, when they dropped a player back in front of Colm and Mike Frank Russell to sweep up.”
Kearns acknowledges that consistently seeking the corners may also be a potential weakness for Kerry.
“The only downside may be that if Kerry keep on playing the ball into his corner, teams will be able to counteract that directly and cut off the supply.”
It’s no surprise therefore that Morgan identifies this as the most likely way to nullify the Dr Crokes man. “Colm lies in so near the goal that your first priority is going to be to cut off the supply of ball from out the field at source, because that’s what he’s relying on.”
Kearns is keen to acknowledge Cooper’s class in possession: “The thing with Colm is he’s a beautiful footballer with all the talents - he’s good off his left and right, he has pace and a great footballing brain. This year he also seems a lot stronger, particularly in the upper body. He could probably do with getting a bit stronger again, but that strength has been a huge help to him.
“He’s also a very aggressive player in the sense that he’s always trying to take the ball on, and because he plays so close to the goal, any time he’s fouled Kerry are almost certain to get a point from the free.”
Michael Comer would no doubt agree with Kearns. The Galway corner-back is familiar with Cooper.
“I’ve marked Colm a couple of times, at U-21 level and also in this year’s league final. He’s a very difficult opponent - you have to keep an eye on him all through the game, for 75 minutes or however long it lasts, because if he gets an inch he can kill you with a goal. He’s like any corner- forward in the sense that he depends on the quality of ball coming into him, but the difference with Colm is that even when he gets a bad ball he can make something of it. Certainly if you give him any space at all he’ll kick points all day long.”
Comer agrees with Kearns’ assessment of Cooper’s strength.
“His game has changed a bit in the last year or so,” says the Galway man.
“Physically he’s become a lot stronger. I was on him at U-21 level last year and I was happy enough with how it went, but I found him much tougher to handle in this year’s league final, he’s much hardier. That helps him with taking the ball on, which is a big part of his game. He’s always looking to get past you and that can lead to frees.”
Cork’s Noel O’Leary quantifies that improvement. “He’s definitely become stronger and harder to mark, Colm has come on 20-30% this year. He’s passed out a lot of other players and I’d say he’s the most complete forward in the game.”
Comer admires the Kerryman’s ability to win possession: “He doesn’t always need the ball delivered to him on a plate. He’s very good in the air for a small lad, he’s a fine fielder. At one stage in this year’s league final I was out in front of him for a ball but he caught it well over my head. I couldn’t believe how he got up for it. Kerry went on to get a goal out of that catch.
“That’s become more a part of his game this year as well - he’s acting more as a play-maker than he did last year. For a player who’s so accurate, he’s not greedy. He’s always looking for someone to pass to, and at times this season he hasn’t taken a chance on a point, even though it’s on, because he’s passed the ball out to someone in a better position.”
Comer’s recipe for stopping Cooper is simple, at least on paper.
“The only way to mark Colm is to give him no space whatsoever. It’s a man-marking job, whoever’s on him has to concentrate totally and not be heading up the field playing neat one-twos.”
O’Leary recommends a more high-risk strategy, though he acknowledges the dangers involved.
“On the ground his diagonal runs make him hard to pick up, because he takes the corner-back out of position. If I were marking him I’d try to play him more from the front - it’s a dicey game but if you play him from behind you’ll suffer.”
O’Leary admires Mayo’s defenders - “a good tight full-back line” - but suggests that keeping Cooper off the scoreboard may not be enough. “If they can hold him to two or three points they’ll be doing well, but it’s not all about his scoring. This year he’s been Kerry’s main man without Seamus Moynihan and Darragh Ó Sé. He’s given great leadership, which would surprise some lads.”
Kearns sees the manager’s predicament. “If Mayo hold him they’ll be well on the way to winning,” says the Limerick boss, “but it’ll be hard for them. John Maughan will probably let Gary Ruane have the first crack at Colm, but if that doesn’t work he’ll probably have a plan B up his sleeve. I’m not sure what that is though!”
MOVE beyond the braided hair and tattoos for a minute. Mayo’s Kieran McDonald is the fulcrum of his side, his distribution linking a resolute defence and an enterprising full-forward line. In Kerry they’re dreaming up ways to stop him. Any tips?
Galway’s Paul Clancy marked McDonald in this year’s Connacht championship and points out that the Mayo man’s distinctive appearance doesn’t tell the whole story: “I don’t think Kieran gets enough credit for his physical strength. He’s very strong, and a lot bigger than he appears on television - he’s about six foot one and he’s all there.”
However, McDonald doesn’t dominate games physically.
“He’s not a player who’s trying to scrap for breaks all the time,” says Clancy.
“He plays off the half-backs a lot. In general play he takes up very good positions and runs very good lines, with and without the ball. He doesn’t involve himself that much in the play, he won’t dive around for a 50-50 ball, but when Mayo win possession he becomes involved, coming onto the ball in the second phase, if you like.
“He doesn’t always look for the obvious pass - when we played them this year he chipped a great pass into David Heaney and they got a point from it.”
For Billy Morgan, the way to counteract McDonald’s influence is straight-forward: “With Kieran McDonald you have to have someone to mark him tightly, it’s as simple as that. You can’t give someone like him space to turn and hit passes, or he’ll destroy you.”
Morgan speaks from experience.
“When Nemo Rangers played Crossmolina in the All-Ireland club championship he played a lot of ball against us and did a lot of damage. He’s an excellent passer of the ball and can pick players out from 50 or 60 yards away.”
Paul Clancy’s team-mate Gary Fahy agrees with Morgan’s prescription.
“With Kieran you have to get really tight, though for a centre-back that’s the eternal debate - whether to go with your man or stay in the centre.”
Fahy also outlines the need for the defence to act as a unit.
“A lot depends on the full-back line inside the centre-back, because if they’re well on top that can give him some freedom. A full-back line that’s winning its own ball doesn’t have be protected by a centre-back sitting in front of it.
“If that’s not the case and your full-backs are under pressure, then you’re back with the man-marking option. That tactic’s already worked against Kieran this year, remember; Fermanagh’s Niall Bogue did very well on him earlier in the summer.”
Clancy, the man with experience of the task, concurs (“You’re as well off picking him up man to man”) before addressing the alternative.
“Kieran enjoys the free role and if a team says, ‘we’ll pick him up in the middle of the field’, no one takes responsibility. He seems to have a good understanding with the Mortimers, and when Mayo bring Brian Maloney out the field that leaves more space for them, which is where your full-back line have to step up.
“If they’re not playing aggressively, getting out in front to check the Mortimers’ runs, then you’re in big trouble, because Kieran will pick them out all day.”
The image of McDonald spraying passes from midfield is a striking one which may define this year’s championship, but Fahy feels it doesn’t tell the whole story.
“Remember, he goes deep to collect the ball but there’s a disadvantage in moving out that far. He’s not close enough to the goal to score, and even if he wins possession he has to make up a lot of ground before he lets in a pass. If the middle of the field gets clogged up - though that’ll mean Kerry having to work very hard - then Kieran may be too far away from the goal to hurt Kerry.”
That wasn’t the case against Galway, as Clancy recalls.
“When Mayo played us Kieran played a lot closer to goal, and Kerry would probably prefer him to stay well out the field - if a player is hitting 40-yard passes then a defender has a chance to get a fist in the way, but if he’s giving 20-yard passes then defending is far more difficult.
“If Kieran’s closer to goal he also has a chance to chip in with a few scores himself, which is something he’s sacrificing by going deep. He’s got a very quick shot that’s hard to defend against.”
Clancy has given some thought to the Kerry management’s likely approach.
“Eamonn Fitzmaurice seems to me to be a centre-back who likes to hold the centre, but if Jack O’Connor is looking to put a man on Kieran to chase him down all day and stick tight, Tomás Ó Sé is the man. No forward likes to have someone on top of them, they just end up laying the ball off with passes.”
Fahy says O’Connor may not want to gear his whole approach just to handle McDonald.
“A lot depends on whether Jack O’Connor is the kind of manager who likes a centre-back to hold the middle or to follow his man, but I think it’d be a mistake to expect him to set up his whole defensive system just to deal with one player.
“There are other factors to consider as well: if the Kerry midfielders and half-forwards work hard enough during the game then Kieran may get bottled up in midfield.
“As for man-marking him, Eamonn Fitzmaurice is an experienced player. I wouldn’t be surprised if Jack O’Connor gives him the freedom to make up his own mind according to how the game is going and let him decide whether or not to go with McDonald.
“If O’Connor decides to try someone different on Kieran he has a couple of good markers available in Marc and Tomás Ó Sé.”
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