Eight observations from the opening round of the championship
CONTACT: Jordan Flynn of Mayo in action against Conor Hussey of Roscommon during the Connacht football Championship quarter-final at MacHale Park in Castlebar. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Just like that we’ve had the first volley from the championship match machine gun. Nine down, 90 more to go. Strap in.
2023 presents a fun challenge for everyone involved. Can fans consume this much Gaelic football? No doubt. Will they be able to? Not likely. The Sunday Game get enough stick as it is and while a Saturday highlights show will go some way towards alleviating the problem, this weekend shows it won’t be revelatory. Of the nine fixtures, three were shown live, and the rest had to fight for space in the fifty-five minutes provided for highlights.
Speaking of limited time, sympathy will be in short supply but this calendar will be a particular challenge for analysts. So many games, the same amount of time to do post-game reviews and opposition analysis. It is a trivial complaint on one level. On another, it could well end up widening the gulf between those with limited resources and teams with no such concerns.
Either way as last weekend showed, we’re in for a wild ride. Here are eight random observations from the opening round of the 2023 championship.
Midway through the second half in Castlebar, RTÉ co-commentator Enda McGinley saw a man go down and cried foul.
“Roscommon are definitely time-wasting here. I did not see any physical contact,” he declared. “He lay down as soon as that point went over. He lay down in the small square. I didn’t see anything in that last replay. I didn’t see anything in real time. He is in a position (where) the referee can’t play on. I think this is Roscommon, in terms of game management, trying to kill a bit of Mayo momentum.”
Shortly after there was another incident and he hinted at the same.
“I’m a physio by trade and the poor Roscommon physio is getting put through the ringer running on here again,” said the Tyrone All-Ireland winner.
In the final minutes he issued the perfect summary.
“Right at the start of the game we said Roscommon’s job today is to slow this game down. To be fair they have done that but to their credit their defensive effort today has been nothing short of stunning.”
It was particularly noticeable in the first half while Roscommon played against the wind that the game was stop-start. There were several reasons for this and both sides were responsible. Roscommon’s medical personnel came on to treat David Murray and Donie Smith. Referee Noel Mooney halted play to talk to Jack Carney and Eoin McCormack and to Eoghan McLaughlin and Dylan Ruane. Mayo goalkeeper Colm Reape came forward to kick two placed balls. Over a minute passed from the time Roscommon were awarded a penalty and Enda Smith converted it. Aidan O’Shea was at the centre of a series of incidents with various opponents.
A stopwatch test suggests ball was in play for 20 minutes and 55 seconds in the first half. Only one minute was added on. In that half Mayo had 16 phases; Roscommon had 15. Six minutes were added in the second half and ball in play time climbed over 24 minutes as a result. Understandably, it led to more attacks. Mayo had 20 phases and Roscommon had 22.
As the chairman of FIFA's referees committee Pierluigi Collina showed during the recent World Cup, there is a simple fix to discourage time-wasting. By instructing referees to be precise with added time, it deterred lengthy stoppages over set-pieces or unnecessary treatment.
None of this is new. For years teams have known trips to places like Pearse Stadium or Wexford Park will mean one half into a stiff wind. A basic plan will prioritise taking the sting out of that. Even so, what is good game management isn’t always good for the sport.
Seven years ago, a motion to congress was successful in introducing the countdown clock used by the LGFA. It was trialled in third-level college’s fixtures and did not proceed because of its shortcomings. The current system is still far from perfect.
As Kevin McStay attempted to steer Mayo home down the final stretch, a familiar light started flashing on the dashboard. Davy Burke and Mark McHugh built a robust defensive structure and Mayo repeatedly crashed into it. They coughed up 15 turnovers in the attacking third versus the opposition’s eight. Roscommon scored 1-4 from turnovers in comparison to Mayo’s 0-3.
Sligo have played nine games this year. Wing-back Luke Towey has scored in seven of them. The former Gold Coast Suns AFL player returned to the county fold last year and is at the heart of an immensely athletic side. It is fitting that he is now up and running.
While playing VFL reserve games in Australia, the Suns used trigger words to call to each other during games. Towey’s call was to help him focus and move on from mistakes: ‘First three steps.’
Gaelic Games coaching platform iGaelicCoach asked an intriguing question on social media recently. ‘Why did Cork press?’ Against Clare in the league, they let Stephen Ryan go short with kickouts. Clare won 13 of 14 and only scored 0-1 from it.
On Sunday, Cork press the kickout and Clare won 14 of 18. This time Clare scored 0-5. Cork did score three points from this source.
Increasingly, teams are realising their press has to be perfect. Otherwise, as Kerry saw throughout the league, they will give it up short and force teams to work the ball.
On Sunday, a well-coached Offaly side secured their first away game in the Leinster Championship since 1997. Longford were 100% on their own kickout in Glennon Brothers Pearse Park as Offaly dropped off. They scored just 0-2.
37 minutes were gone in the Laois and Wexford clash when Robbie Brooks made a tackle in his own half and won a sideline. Niall Hughes ran over to take it instead, attempted a pass back to his goalkeeper and watched in horror as Evan O’Carroll intercepted and fed Mark Barry for a tap in. Barry was on hand to boot in after a loose ball broke kindly on the hour mark. All it takes is a sliver of a chance and a slice of luck. Laois are now the leading goal scorers across league and championship with 16.
In the All-Ireland club semi-final, Kilmacud Crokes were nearly undone by a colossal performance from midfielder David Moran. As we highlighted in these pages, the Dublin kingpins did their best to tackle this threat. Moran was fouled six times in that game. Just behind him on five was Gavin O’Brien.
The son of Ger ‘Mush’ O’Brien was outstanding along with Galway All-Ireland winner Johnny Glynn in midfield as New York made history in the Bronx. It is a position Kerry are currently lacking depth in.
The Kerins O'Rahillys man played for Kerry in 2019 but moved overseas last year. His club manager then was Mike Quirke, now a Kerry selector who said O’Brien was the most improved player on their team. He commuted back for the recent club campaign.
“He is a serious operator,” said former player of the year James O’Donoghue on The Football Pod this week. “Kind of one who got away for Kerry. I think he would’ve been on the panel if he didn’t go to New York. I think he was called in. Unbelievable hands, great leap, great engine.” Fits the bill.
Two late goals helped Tipperary end a nine-game losing streak last Sunday as they beat Waterford 3-9 to 1-11. They haven’t won since beating the same opposition in the 2022 Munster quarter-final.
“Relief definitely. Obviously, we haven’t won a game all year. To win a championship game is great. We made it hard for ourselves,” said selector Declan Browne post-match. Next up is a daunting trip to Kerry.
“If things had gone wrong for us today, we’d an awful five or six weeks ahead. No point saying different. So at least now we have a pep in our step. We can go to training Wednesday night, train as hard as we can for Kerry. We are not under any illusions. We are not going to win the game. You just have to prepare and get as much out of it as we can.”
How important is it to have a spread of scorers? Take last weekend’s small sample size of nine ties. In six, the team with the highest spread of scorers triumphed. Only Roscommon and Laois won with a smaller spread. For the likes of Leitrim and Cork, their reliance on one star attacker was particularly glaring. Outside of Keith Beirne and Stephen Sherlock, only three other players scored.
CONNECT WITH US TODAY
Be the first to know the latest news and updates
