Talking Points: Easy to see why Ballyhale were so muted in their final celebrations
STUTTERING: TJ Reid of Shamrocks Ballyhale. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Being serial Leinster title winners is always bound to reduce the fizz and dilute the delirium but Ballyhale have set such high standards, especially in Croke Park, that the final whistle on Sunday felt and sounded like anything but a win. Some smiles did break out on the field, especially amongst the younger players, but this was the least celebrated of the Shamrocks’ 12 provincial title wins because it was so untypical Ballyhale.
Outside of Kilkenny, Ballyhale haven’t got pummelled against the ropes and been hit with so many concussive blows since Portumna blitzed them in the first half of the 2009 All-Ireland semi-final. That day though, they were chasing the game from the first quarter, but Ballyhale looked out of sight here after half-time and beyond the reach of any potential uppercuts or lethal haymakers.
Kilmacud did have a strong breeze behind them but once they threw off the shackles and whipped up an irrepressible tide, Ballyhale almost found themselves submerged.
The game turned on puckouts but the trend of the match was largely defined by restarts. In the first half, Ballyhale won 11 of their 12 puck outs along with 50% of Kilmacud’s. Yet after half-time, Kilmacud won the overall puckout stat 20-10.
Ballyhale did have seven more shots (43-35) while they also had far more shots from play (37-24), but they were thankful that Dean Mason made two fine saves after the break while their goal was laced with good fortune and bad luck for Eddie Gibbons, one of the best young goalkeepers in the country.
Kilmacud were heroic but they were also far more physical and aggressive after the break, knocking Ballyhale back at every turn.
One of the most noticeable trends of the match though, was how much the numbers of Ballyhale’s four biggest names – TJ Reid, Adrian Mullen, Colin Fennelly and Eoin Cody - spiralled in the first half and plummeted after the break. Mullen ran the game in the first half; from 15 plays in that period, Mullen scored three points while he had two assists and was involved in two more scores. Cody, TJ and Fennelly had either scored, assisted or been directly involved in 13 of Ballyhale’s 16 scores.
In the opening ten minutes of the second half, Ballyhale’s four big guns were restricted to just three possessions as they couldn’t get their hands on the ball. All four did make a combined 18 plays in the last 24 minutes but that possession only amounted to a Reid point and two assists from Mullen and Cody for being fouled for frees. In the same period, Cody drove two wides and dropped one short, while Mullen (2) and Fennelly also dropped three into Gibbons’ hand.
Fennelly said afterwards that Ballyhale were “too casual”. They were. And they got lucky. Easy to see why the on-field celebrations were so muted.
With 15 minutes remaining in Semple Stadium on Saturday, Tony Kelly dropped a shot short and Ballygunner immediately initiated the counter-attack. Stephen O’Keeffe played a short pass to Ronan Power before Peter Hogan and Ian Kenny triangulated a passing sequence into Kevin O’Mahony in the middle of the field.
O’Mahony got past Brandon O’Connell but Pierce Lillis was coming across to block off his path so O’Mahony instinctively flicked the ball back over his head to his brother Mikey, who drove the ball over the bar. The score put Ballygunner five points ahead, which was the most they had led all afternoon up to that point of the match. Yet Ballygunner clearly had that extra touch of craft and guile. And the tide was now rapidly turning.
Similar to the Na Piarsaigh game two weeks earlier, Ballygunner’s second half performance, particularly in the fourth quarter underlined how their conditioning, composure, class and strength of mindset has reached a level above any other team in Munster.
Winning an All-Ireland strengthens confidence and belief but having a brilliant young player like Patrick Fitzgerald come into the side has also showcased how Ballygunner look even better now than the team that won last February. As well as scoring 1-4, Fitzgerald could have had two more goals. In three Munster club appearances this year, Fitzgerald has scored 3-9 from play.
Dessie Hutchinson was central to Ballygunner’s success last year but having a player of Fitzgerald’s quality has really taken the pressure off him. Hutchinson had a huge volume of possessions (14) compared to what he had against Na Piarsaigh (6) but, while he got four points from play and had two assists, Hutchinson’s scoring contribution no longer needs to be the crucial difference.
Ballyea were brilliant in the first half but they had put so much effort into matching Ballygunner stride for stride that they just couldn’t keep up that pace. For long stages Tony Kelly was unmarkable; from 13 plays, Kelly scored four points while he was fouled for four frees and he also had an assist. Ballygunner knew that Kelly was always going to inflict a certain amount of damage but they still trusted their system to get the job done.
St Joseph’s Doora-Barefield, the last side before the weekend to have won back-to-back Munster titles 23 years ago, are the only Munster club to have reached successive All-Ireland finals. But Ballygunner’s aim is to become the first side from the province to win successive All-Irelands.
In the lead up to Sunday's Leinster football final, Kilmacud Crokes had conceded an average of just 8.5 points in eight games, but the devil was loaded in the detail of that data. As well as conceding just three goals, Crokes had kept the opposition in Dublin and Leinster to just ten scores or less in seven of those eight games. By contrast The Downs had conceded an average of 12.4 points, managing to keep a team to ten scores or less in just three of their nine games.
A handful of trends were maintained Sunday. Crokes limited the Westmeath champions to just eight points while, similar to their previous two games against Naas and Portarlington, Crokes blitzed their opponents in the first half and just kept the engine ticking over after the break.
In the first half, The Downs were restricted to just six shots at the target, and just one point. The Westmeath side did have ten shots after the break, scoring seven, but the game was long over by half-time.
Kilmacud manager Robbie Brennan said on TG4 afterwards that he is hopeful Paul Mannion will feature in January. Getting him back on the pitch alongside Shane Walsh will add to Crokes’ potency and firepower up front. Yet their parsimony at the back is what has made Crokes look a better side this year.
There were stages in the first half of Sunday's Connacht SFC final when this looked like being the lowest-scoring Connacht final in 18 years. After Moycullen blitzed Westport, Strokestown came with a much more defensive gameplan in the semi-final, taking the match to extra time. And Tourlestrane knew they had to set similar terms and conditions Sunday to have any chance There was just 17 shots in the first half, and nine scores, while both teams only turned over the ball nine times in that period. Moycullen’s running game though, especially the incisive angles of their runs and clever support patterns, combined with their supreme conditioning, eventually began to prise the Sligo side’s defensive system apart. After failing to score from play in the first half, Moycullen scored nine points from 14 shots from play after the break.
This Moycullen team is maturing and evolving at a rapid rate but one of the impressive aspects of this group is their discipline, especially at the back. Tourlestrane were restricted to just three shots from placed balls, only one of which was a free conceded inside their own ’45.
Serious.
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