Mike Quirke: Tyrone go from the hunter to the hunted
It was like a scene from National Geographic, watching a pack of hungry lions waiting at water’s edge, taking turns to ambush and bring down the nervous wildebeest, unsure of where to cross or how to make their escape. One by one, they were felled and devoured by a manic, co-ordinated work rate that the game had not seen before. It heralded a new dawn for Gaelic football. A pack mentality.
It was my first year on the Kerry panel and I was sitting with the rest of the substitutes in the middle of the Hogan Stand bewildered by this huge deviation from the script.
But despite that exhibition of defensive teamwork by Tyrone, I took away a very different image from that game that has always stayed with me, and it typified the pressures that Kerry are constantly under to perform and win, particularly from our own people.
With little time left on the clock that day, and the game all but gone from us, an older Kerry supporter, obviously unhappy with what he had witnessed, hopped over the hoardings, ambled his way over to the late Paidi Ó Sé on the sideline, and squared up to him - fists raised. It was as bizarre a scene as I have ever witnessed in Croke Park. As the game trundled away to its inevitable conclusion behind them, this man threw out a few tame left jabs that Paidí graciously deflected and shuffled away from. Eventually, stewards moved in and the ten second incident was quelled peacefully.
In my head, all I was thinking was, ‘Jesus Christ, if that’s what our own people want to do to us, what chance have we got against this gang’.
Next Sunday’s match-up will generate those same powerful emotions in the stands of Croke Park. But for Kerry, unlike that day, this is a game they should win. They are the better side and know exactly what’s coming down the tracks.
In 2003, we were ill-equipped to deal with what Tyrone brought to the party. We hadn’t even heard of a massed defence, never mind seen such a well drilled defensive zone coupled with their counter-attacking capabilities they employed with break neck speed. This wasn’t the way football was played in that Golden Years video we were reared on.
Tyrone had changed the rules of engagement and found a system of play that maximised their own abilities and afforded them a realistic chance of success. It was coaching brilliance from Mickey Harte. More power to them.
In 2005 and 2008, we were better prepared, but so were they. They had moved on. Two tight games that could have gone either way, but Tyrone were deserving winners and worthy champions. No excuses. People made a big deal about how the Kerry players were so animated in their celebrations after the qualifier victory in Killarney in 2012. Of course, Tyrone were but a shadow of their great self in that fixture, but they were still Tyrone.
And it wasn’t Kerry’s fault they had fallen so far from their peak. They were the only ones to leave any kind of a mark on Kerry in our Celtic Tiger years and the players were entitled to enjoy the moment in front of their own people. After all, Tyrone remained the only stick people had to beat Kerry with for that period of time.
Sunday’s semi-final offers Kerry an opportunity to beat a new Tyrone. Same system, but in a game that should be played free of the baggage of the 2000’s. These are the same two counties, but different teams. New players, save a few.
This time, Kerry are better equipped to deal with the defensive, counter attacking game-plan of the Red Hand. They showed everybody the template for how to beat it last year in the All Ireland final against Donegal, but this Tyrone side will bring greater athleticism and an ability to cover ground more quickly.
In a direct contrast to the collision areas of 2003 - when Kerry played football in tight spaces the rough equivalent of a postage stamp - they will be doing everything possible to minimise the amount of times they take the ball into contact. They must make the pitch as big and wide as possible. They will not want to present Tyrone with any targets to tackle early on, by moving the ball quickly away from areas of congestion. They know now, that group tackling and turnovers are what gives them energy and oxygen.
Dispossessions or frees against you high up the pitch are where Tyrone really make hay on the counter. Similar to Donegal, they want to suck you on to them as they retreat back into their defensive zone inside the 65 to offer greater protection to their inside defenders.
Watch Colm Cavanagh every time they lose the ball, he’ll just turn his back to the play and run hard to one corner of the D.
He is one of their two deep sweepers, and will look to provide specific help on Donaghy or Gooch or whoever is occupying Kerry’s inside forward positions. He and Joe McMahon (before his injury) and then his brother Justin operated in there to great effect against Monaghan. They fill designated zones of space from there out. Sean Cavanagh is normally positioned closer to their 45 at the outer perimeter of their zone. He is one of their chasers out there, with no particular man-marking responsibility, almost like a free safety in American Football, roaming across that line offering pressure or a double team to any Kerry player to get caught long enough in their web.
His positioning is key to their fast counter-attack. He, Mattie Donnelly and Peter Harte will incessantly fill lanes and run hard at Kerry at every turn-over opportunity. Those three in particular tend not to get consistently sucked too deep defensively which enables them and Tyrone to transition more quickly from defence to attack
. Although, Peter Harte may find himself with a specific man marking job on the likes of Stephen O’Brien the next day which may occupy him more defensively, and curtail his attacking instincts.
I’d be surprised if Kerry aren’t extremely disciplined, especially early on, with committing too many bodies to the attack, especially half backs. Paul Murphy and Killian Young have licence to go, but if they do, watch for Donnchadh Walsh or O’Brien, Maher or Moran to take up their defensive position.
Kerry must not allow themselves to be outnumbered on the counter. So, much like against Donegal last year, they will try to keep their defensive shape even when in possession of the ball in the attacking half.
Kerry will want to use the full width of Croke Park, to stretch the Tyrone zone and force them to move and cover more ground than they are programmed to. They must get runners from half forward to go side-line to side-line, making hard lateral runs through the heart of the zone as ‘cutters’, to occupy covering defenders and seek out uninhabited pockets of space. They must engage the sweepers with intelligent runs and tempt them to lose their positional discipline, thus creating a sliver of space for another forward to come into and have a pop.
The key to beating any zone is to get it to shift with good ball movement and penetration, and get inside it. Shooting from distance is not the long term answer to beating Tyrone, as Monaghan found out after they stroked over a few long range lasers in the opening minutes of the quarter final; its fool’s gold. It’s what they want you to do. Kerry will be patient and try to pick their spots and go at the zone to create opportunities from play and to win score-able frees closer to goal.
Tyrone are a different team when they have a cause. They feel they are being wronged, and discredited by the media and head office in Croke Park. But causes don’t win you football matches - players do. And I don’t believe they have the same quality, particularly up front, as they had in their glory days.
To that end, I expect Kerry will show they are a different animal to the one Tyrone have faced in the past. They are no longer the wildebeest, waiting helplessly to be attacked on the edge of the river. This Kerry side have teeth of their own now, and with their new found defensive solidity and pack mentality, Tyrone may just go from the hunter to the hunted.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
