Be mindful in meddling with the schedule of the Ulster final
As night fell in clones, the Donegal team had still not begun their journey home. With a relaxed flow to the remainder of their day, the chaos from earlier seemed a distant memory. In a moment of team camaraderie, each of the players emerged onto the field, each enjoying an ice cream before posing for a picture. “The most enjoyable ice creams you’d ever have,” said Jim McGuinness.
With the final over, Clones slowly returned to its usual rhythm, resembling a snowglobe being gently reset. Traces of another Ulster final were scattered across the terraces, television wires were being coiled and stored away and Clones’ residents were reclaiming their hometown.
Intuitively, placing one of the most significant matches of our national sport in such a location seems nonsensical. A town lacking extensive public transport, burdened with miles of deserted cars, and unreliable phone and internet coverage. The whole idea appears downright ludicrous.
However, there’s a charm to it that is truly unequaled. Whether it was this year, last year, or the year before, being present at the Ulster final had an undeniable allure. Even though many of us highlight, quite genuinely, from the sterility of our rooms, the futility of the provincial championships and debate they should be cancelled or restructured. But when the Ulster final day arrives, we forget all about it.
Interfering with this dedicated day in the Irish sports calendar would not be a minor change. We should approach such a change with due delicacy. — Malachy Clerkin
Did Cork reveal a seldom-seen weakness in Limerick?
Turning our attention to Limerick, it seems they were unusually off-balance on Saturday night. This vulnerability is not something usually associated with them, especially given their performance over the recent years. Cork’s strategy to exploit Limerick’s pace wasn’t novel as they’ve attempted it before. However, Limerick’s struggle to efficiently intercept their rivals was a distinguishable difference in Saturday’s game.
During the first half, Limerick was extremely offensive, reminiscent of their performance at the 2021 Munster Final when Tipperary led them by 10 points. Limerick adheres to a key stratagem similar to that once followed by Brian Cody, which is ensuring their half-backs maintain a conservative, deep position to limit open space for their main defence line.
Historically, no team had attempted to position their forwards so close to the touchline that they were almost out of bounds. Most teams nowadays favour projecting the ball from between the two 65 yard lines into the forward line during attacks. However, Limerick’s intimidating, robust forwards and their knack for aggressive tackling make this quite a challenge. Winning possession in the opposition’s territory pumps adrenaline into Limerick’s strategies, as demonstrated in their recent recovery.
In the game’s latter half, even though Cork’s far-reaching puck-outs were less successful against the wind, they never forfeited their ambition to confront Limerick aerially. In their second goal, Seamus Harnedy achieved an uncontested reception within the Limerick defence lines. Towards the end, when Cork sought a comeback, Brian Hayes made a few impressive aerial recoveries. Robert Downey was exceptional at intercepting high balls. Cork consciously sought to hit long balls to prepared receiving players.
In the first half, one of Cork’s puck-outs involved Shane Barrett intending to interrupt Diarmuid Byrne’s control of the airspace to allow a safer passage for the ball to Harnedy who was ready but unguarded at a distance of 10 yards. Through these tactics, Cork sought to challenge Limerick’s dominance in aerial play, which has been a foremost factor in their consistent victories over the years.
The most problematic aspect for Limerick, however, was their struggle to secure a match-winning lead during the game’s final phase, reminiscent of their first All-Ireland Final in 2018 when they lost a distinct eight-point advantage down to a solitary point.
Additionally, allowing 3 goals and 28 points was quite the setback.
Suddenly, Limerick finds itself in a predicament, as noted by Denis Walsh in his column Northern Exposure. Observing Sunday’s event at Clones, one could not ignore the crowd’s discomfort due to the persistent yellow status rain.
Far from the undeniable comfort of the dry press box, spectators were seen exiting St Tiernach’s Park unwillingly. Unsurprisingly, this compromises the optimal setting for the 25th-anniversary celebration of Armagh’s 1999 Ulster triumph. After a 17-year drought, this victory saw the victors claim the Anglo Celt Cup, stirring the county to secure six out of the next nine titles thereafter.
Jarlath Burns, the victorious team captain and present GAA president, was present on the pitch with his comrades, acknowledging the audience.
Amidst the light rain, the dual managers from 1999, Brian McAlinden and Brian Canavan, likewise acknowledged the audience. They had witnessed the previous Donegal-Armagh final in Clones so the weather certainly didn’t take them off guard.
In the drizzling finals in 1990, co-commentated by Marty Morrissey, McAlinden served as Armagh’s goalkeeper and Canavan as his corner-back. They both, in their capacity as managers, had realigned Armagh as prospective All-Ireland challengers, securing Ulster titles in sequence in 2000, and reluctantly surrendered to three consecutive All-Ireland winners, Meath, Kerry and Galway – only after a replay was necessitated by Maurice Fitzgerald’s last-minute free in approximately a 50 metre range and another late disruption in the qualifiers by Paul Clancy.
As luck would have it, in the rain at Clones 34 years ago, they narrowly lost to Donegal, under the guidance of Brian McEniff, which was in the early stages of a successful maiden All-Ireland challenge, a dream that realized two years later.
In 1990, the final game ended with a scoreline of 0-15 to 0-14, in favour of Donegal. In a similar vein, last Sunday saw Armagh ahead by the same score in the final moments. This time around though, there was a leveling point, thanks to Paddy McBrearty, the triumphant captain. A point made by Seán Moran.
There seems to be a current crisis in communication influenced by the GAA’s crackdown on Maor Foirne’s pitchside journeys and their stringent stance on players removing their helmets and falling to the ground trying to draw a halt in play. Every team is experiencing communication failures. Post Clare’s victory over Cork, Pat Ryan reported that passing a message onto the field might take as much as 60 seconds – a seemingly endless stretch during a crisis.
The issue has been previously broached and revisited by John Kiely last Saturday night. In the COVID era, with water breaks after every quarter, there was a lot of talk about Paul Kinnerk’s tactical board interventions. Even though his knack for pointing out necessary adjustments in the tumultuous environs of a championship match is highly valued, its effect significantly diminishes if the insightful message is trapped or swept away by the wind. Limerick clearly had matters to address this Saturday night, but unfortunately, it only happened during half-time.
John Kiely expressed frustration, stating: “In the contemporary game, we’re prevented from sending messages to the pitch. Coaches are becoming somewhat redundant, we might as well stay at home and watched it unfold. This poses quite a difficulty. In what other sport are coaches prohibited from interacting with participating players? It’s simply outrageous. All counties face this problem. I’m sure Pat Ryan would feel the same.”
He added, “Amidst all the uproar from 44,000 spectators, even getting a message onto the pitch is a challenge. You can’t hear anything from six feet away. And while we’re here straining our vocal cords, I hope they’ve amassed a nice sum for all the upcoming claims. Perhaps a reevaluation of their strategies should be considered. In football, rugby and other such games, it’s relatively straightforward to relay a message to the players. I think every GAA manager and coach is immensely infuriated at the inability to convey a message, even three in a half.”
The importance of immediate problem resolution during matches in the sports of football and hurling has always been paramount, even though it might not have been labelled as such regularly. If a team in today’s advanced era isn’t capable of identifying and resolving flaws instantly, aren’t they facing peril? Is it feasible to execute such detailed oversight from the sidelines in actuality?
A few years ago, Jim Gavin stated, “My training was primarily focused on becoming a platoon leader. In a platoon, there are three sectors, each having eight soldiers. However, I don’t have the ability to guide the eighth rifleman where to aim from behind. His performance will match the level of his training. When the game is in the final phase, or even seven minutes into extra time, and you’re one man short, a point behind, and five-in-a-row is at stake, they’ll perform to the standard you’ve trained them.”
Limerick’s most notable skill for multiple years has been falling back on their training during stressful times. — Denis Walsh
Donegal men triumph whilst in diaspora
Donegal men weren’t only triumphant in Clones over the past weekend. The strong performance by the Tír Chonaill group, especially Ciarán Diver who scored 1-5 just from the play, was a significant highlight of London’s overwhelming victory against Offaly on Saturday in Tullamore. By the end of the match, there were five players from Donegal contributing to London’s side, and Daniel Clarke and Michael Carroll also added to the scoreline.
Despite everyone expecting London to eventually secure a win in the Tailteann Cup, no one anticipated it would occur here – and certainly not in such a dominant manner. Their defeat of Offaly by 2-20 to 0-12 held at the latter’s home ground not only marked their first championship triumph since climbing to the 2013 Connacht final, but it also recorded their overall most significant championship victory.
This considerable achievement boosts their chances of advancing to the competition’s preliminary quarter-final. Going forward, Offaly is slated to play Limerick this upcoming Saturday and simply cannot afford to lose further ground, considering they have an upcoming match against Down and an unattractive points difference already against their name. Meanwhile, Conor Laverty’s team will be hosting Down in London this weekend after a well-served notice.— Malachy Clerkin.