Minor classic a template for the future of Gaelic football

WHEN the next great flood washes over us and all the sports are jostling for a place in the ark’s playing calendar, Gaelic football’s representative on earth — or Marty Morrissey, maybe — need only submit a recording of last Sunday’s All-Ireland final to showcase the sport’s potential.

The minor final, that is.

That game truly had it all, not least the precocious two-footed brilliance of vanquished dual star Ciarán Kilkenny, who bestrode the first half like Zidane had found his true calling. Then there were the standout goals from Gavin Ivory and Liam McGrath before Colman Kennedy capped a stirring Tipperary comeback with an audacious long-rang strike that laughed in the face of the take-your-point conservatism that normally pervades the sport.

And after all the grief Donegal shipped this year, this game showed too that tactics can co-exist comfortably with enterprise over 60, or 70 minutes. Tipp made up deficits in age and power by filtering back when required, but their ability to break with conviction and kick accurately meant the smash-and-grab was just about deserved.

Played in messy conditions without rancour or controversy, this minor classic ought to be preserved as a template for the ages.