Albert Einstein once declared, “Not all that is quantifiable truly matters, and not all that matters can be quantified.” By adopting this mindset, an attempt will be made to emphasise the vital elements from the All-Ireland final starring Cork and Clare. Still, capturing the brilliance of Tony Kelly, John Conlon’s unyielding spirit, or the youthful flair of Adam Hogan and Conor Leen, alongside Conor Cleary’s art of ‘spoiling’, is a challenging task.
Certain aspects of the competition were dominated by Clare, yet Cork also had moments where they excelled. Throughout the game, Cork made exceptional deliveries to their forwards, displayed precision in shooting and prevailed in turnovers. They emerged victorious in the turnover contest by achieving a score of 51-40, which proved to be a significant scoring avenue for Cork, culminating in a 0-22 lead.
Cork puckout
The puckout statistics for Cork were disappointingly low, a fact that becomes more stark given the success they experienced with their puckouts in their previous two matches against Limerick. It can be said that Cork’s puckout strategy was effectively under Clare’s control.
In the initial half, Patrick Collins made 19 puckouts altogether with 14 being launched significantly farther. Of these, Clare secured 13/14 – with David McInerney capturing two in the clear air and Clare triumphing 11/12 on the breaking ball. Adding to Cork’s concerns was their struggle to maintain possession past the midfield line through their short puckouts in the first half. They were unsuccessful in retaining possession beyond the halfway point on all five instances. Furthermore, there were no points scored off their puckouts in the initial half.
The typical tactic Cork employed against Limerick, rushing onto the breaking ball, was thwarted as Clare thwarted aerial moves and halted runs as Cork swarmed towards the breaking ball area. Crucial factors were the efforts of Conlon, who prevented Shane Barrett’s runs to the breaking ball zone, and Cleary, who spoiled Brian Hayes’ aerial ambitions.
The hurling performance of Cork exhibited a boost in their puck out strategy only after the halfway time, but even then, they only made a meagre 0.15 points per puck out, scoring 0-7 out of 46 attempts during an hour and a half of play. Despite trying to navigate a short shot on eight occasions, they did not succeed in scoring and resulted in six turnovers and two unhit shots.
The hurling team from Clare, however, demonstrated a markedly superior performance in puck outs compared to Cork. They achieved 3-9 out of their puck outs, amounting to 0.38 points per attempt which greatly outpaced Cork’s performance, showing the importance of this aspect of the game.
One noteworthy difference was how effectively Clare executed their short puck outs, often reaching the opposite end of the field. Out of nine short puck outs, six reached Cork’s half and resulted in goals worth 1-2. Two additional opportunities to score were created through these attempts, but unfortunately, they were blocked.
Clare’s strategic use of the ball from defense showcased variety – oscillating between using running with the ball, passing with the stick over a medium range, and distanced overhead throws.
Tony Kelly’s performance was a masterpiece. He shone at critical junctures in the game. Interestingly, in a post-game review, Kelly pointed out that defensive strategies of Cork that intended to prevent him from shooting may have inadvertently opened up opportunities for him to carry the ball.
Kelly’s scores were each marked by impressive fluency and grace. Across various points in the game, he shone with 1-4 scores, assisted in 0-2 and had a hand in another 0-2. Even while contributing to the offence, he was crucial to defence, intercepting three Cork puck outs in his half-back line and scoring an elegant point while handling a Clare puck out during extra time.
Kelly’s sphere of influence around the field is demonstrated in a map, where he creates magic when darting from edges to the centre with the ball. Despite being named the best player of the match, had David Fitzgerald been more accurate in his shooting, Kelly might have had some competition for the accolade.
In the match, Fitzgerald secured 12 attempts at the goal posts, however, with only three successful shoots, his shooting efficiency stood at 25%. Despite having a goal chance blocked in the overtime given after Kelly’s set up, Fitzgerald made eight additional point attempts that were unsuccessful. A HawkEye was needed to determine that two of those attempts were off target. Fitzgerald successfully handled the ball 22 times, making seven long-range passes to set up the Clare attack.
In addition to that, Fitzgerald won the puckout which resulted in Tony Kelly’s goal. After catching the ball, he quickly passed it to the player from Ballyea. Essentially functioning as a half-back, Fitzgerald’s significant position as a pass receiver from the backs created substantial problems for Cork.
His engagement with Mark Coleman was one of the few duels in the game that did not involve traditional direct confrontation. Fitzgerald’s strategic position and his impact on the match meant that Coleman had a significant active role in Cork’s offence. He scored three times and was vital in setting up Cork’s attack by making six long distance passes to the Cork forwards during the match contributing to to their score of two points.
Switching the view to defence, I noticed that the penalty for unlawfully obstructing a clear opportunity for scoring a goal is excessively harsh. With the risk of having a penalty and spending 10 minutes in the sin bin, defenders tend to be reluctant to make instinctive tackles, which they would normally do when playing at club level, as this rule does not apply there.
The game was highlighted by three exceptional solo goals. Interestingly the lack of firm resistance during these scoring moments was clear as the goal scorers smoothly navigated through their opponent’s defences. The rule surely played a part in the Rob Downey goal, mixed with man-marking constraints.
During the Aidan McCarthy goal, Ciaran Joyce was attached to Shane O’Donnell until he let go. The Cork team attempted to halt O’Donnell within the rules but to no avail. This may seem unfair to defenders, however, there was a moment in the 30th minute where Clare showcased an exceptional display of direct ball control, supporting runs, and skills scoring three points within 90 seconds – an unbeatable attacking display.
The hurling match, as is typical, saw a multitude of action unfold that cannot be entirely reported in this piece. Standout performances from players such as Diarmuid Ryan, Conor Leen and Adam Hogan are likely to be the key memories from this game; moments which exemplified the magical nature of the sport. Despite the high performance of the Clare men, this Cork team demonstrates resilience, indicating a promising stability for the future. Many of them have the potential for further improvement. Paul O’Brien, a performance analyst from ‘The Performance Process’, followed the match closely (twitter.com/NoPlanBGAA).