Kilkenny… 2-26
Clare… 0-20
When Dunshaughlin were a distance ahead of the pack in Meath football under Eamonn Barry, the highly successful and unfairly maligned coach had inculcated in his players the belief that 16 points was the very minimum required to win matches.
It would be very interesting to see what the comparative score in hurling was at the time. Fast forward to now and 25 points might just about keep you on the coat tails of the elite.
Much of that reality is attributable gloriously to Limerick. For the last half decade or so, they have realigned thinking on how to win matches, by often clocking up a minimum of 30 points per outing.
It’s worth noting that when Clare won the All Ireland in 2013, their tally in the replay was 30 points (5-15) and even though Cork themselves had raised three green flags, six points was as close as they could get to Davy Fitzgerald’s side.
Nowadays, Limerick add goals for garnish, having most likely shot the lights out before that. Every great team has their own methodology. No matter how many lncarnations of Kilkenny certain commandments will be eternally non-negotiable – honesty, effort and selflessness top of the list.
However, whereas in the past, unfortunate adversaries like Limerick and Waterford were obliterated with goal blitzes in the opening few minutes, last night Clare were ambushed with a barrage of points from all distances and angles.
Now, in mitigation for Brian Lohan’s charges, losing John Conlon just before throw in was a seismic blow. Losing any player that late is going to be disruptive, but, within the Clare camp, even from an outside observation point, it’s obvious that Conlon is one of the leadership group.
What was a bit surprising, though, was the decision to replace him with Paidi Fitzpatrick rather than Jack Browne. That in itself caused a bit of realignment within the team. But then, players have to be flexible and adaptable these days.
None of the above, however, could explain the Banner County – like the Irish rugby team earlier in the day – being so beset by unforced errors that it amounted to self destruction. I cannot recall a team hitting 24 wides in an inter county match previously.
It wasn’t even just that though. Tony Kelly looked human, ordinary even. That was always going to happen and the reaction of those around him would be telling. Yesterday, with the exception of Diarmuid Ryan, David Fitzgerald and Shane O’Donnell, it amounted to sheer panic.
That said, it’s surely indicative of the evolution of the game that, despite all their misfiring, Lohan’s lads still sent over 20 points, yet still took a 12 point pasting.
Sometimes, mind you, all the systems and tactics in the world can’t decommision simplicity. Brian Cody may not have done himself any favours in recent months, but, occasionally, as in this instance, all one can do is applaud his brilliance and ingenuity at the ‘day job’.
Debates about things like who is the greatest GAA manager of all time are, to me, questions with no right or wrong answers. For what it’s worth, though, I always think Cody and Sean Boylan are closely matched. Right, so the great man in the baseball cap will, in two weeks, lead the Cats into a 17th All Ireland Final, having won 11, whereas Sean led Meath to four. But stay with me here.
One day long ago, the question was put to my herbalist neighbour “What do you need to beat Dublin”? Without blinking, “You have to pull a rabbit from the hat” came the response. In other worrds, throw something at them they’re not expecting. Like the move for Kevin Foley’s goal, which they’d spent two hours rehearsing on a soccer pitch in Wales the week before. The point that nobody – not even the player himself – would’ve expected the Trim man to end up inches from John O’Leary.
For comparative purposes, see the Kilkenny boss handing Walter Walsh his debut in an All Ireland Final replay and the towering full forward ending the day as Man Of The Match. If memory serves me correctly, he did something similar with the ‘original’ Tommy Walsh before that.
Last evening, he delved into his bag of tricks once more and came up with another show stopper. Quite literally in this case. Most people, this writer included, would’ve expected Padraig Walsh to line out at centre back and so assume the onerous task of policing Tony Kelly.
But no, Cody knew that exactly what people expected him to do, so, yet again he outfoxed everyone, assigning the burgeoning Mikey Butler to put the brakes on the magical Ballyea clubman. For two reasons, firstly, in his own subtle way, the Marble City boss was inviting the young defender to step up to the plate, and secondly, it was throwing a curve ball at their opponents.
Moreover, whereas in the past or on a different day, the stars in stripes might have ravaged their opponents with goals, there appeared to be a definite policy shift to the tried and trusted ‘take your points and the goals will come’.
They took them by the trailer load, with the Ballyhale squadron of Adrian Mullen, TJ Reid and Eoin Cody laying siege to Eimhar Quilligan’s goal. And then the goal did indeed arrive on the call of half time. Poacher supreme Mossie Keoghan bagging his ninth three pointer of the season.
That left the supposed underdogs a whopping 14 points clear. Job done, you’d be thinking. Yet, there was no way a Cody coached crew were going to ease up. Nor, for that matter were Lohan’s lads were going to roll over.
O’Donnell, Fitzgerald, Rory Hayes, Ryan and and substitute Mark Rodgers did continue to rifle over points, but it was one of those evenings when the 0-20 they ended with was never going to be enough.
Whatever about the eventual vanquished scoring fairly well – in the second half in particular – their profligacy would leave them in peril against any team. Let alone a bag of Cats feeling like they’d something to prove. To who, only the man in the cap knows. Perhaps themselves most of all.
Whatever the diesel, the feline engine was purring like a Massey Ferguson with a straight pipe. Scores continued to cascade over Quilligan’s head from the wonderful Reid, Cody, Walter Walsh, Padraig Walsh, the hard working Billy Ryan and the truly outstanding Cian Kenny. Before the latter made absolutely sure he and his colleagues will at least have the opportunity to end the county’s seven itch to have Mr Mac Carthy around for the Christmas dinner.
Though Brian Lohan and his entourage will obviously be crestfallen, not only at having lost but probably mostly because they very obviously didn’t do themselves justice. I wouldn’t be surprised if Tony Kelly wasn’t 100% but there’s surely more left in the tank, having Rodgers will obviously also be a boost for 2023, as will the continued emergence of the likes of Aaron Fitzgerald, Shane Meehan, Shane Golden should be enough to keep Brian Lohan in situ.
His opposite number, on the other hand, is back where he wants to be. Possibly as underdogs again, but every new chapter of the neverending story has to start somewhere. But these cubs have claws and aren’t afraid to use them. Approach with caution.
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