WEA Supplement - Flipbook - Page 15
ALL-IRELAND SFC FINAL
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 10 2021
IN ASSOCIATION
WITH
www.irishnews.com
15
SHADOWS
TO CONCEDE OR PRESS UP?
A
T the other end, they will have
to put an aggressive press on
the Rob Hennelly kick-out.
Allowing Mayo to come onto you
could be a recipe for disaster.
Having studied the Kerry kick-outs
again, it looked like Tyrone were
stuck between a rock of playing
zonal and the hard place of going
man to man.
I believe they set out to try and
disrupt the Kerry kick-out – but the
plan failed miserably.
They just didn’t make it
claustrophobic enough between the
21 and 50 and Kerry played them like
a fiddle.
The kick-out straight after the Conor
McKenna goal, Kerry pulled every
player bar one outside the 50-yard
line. Tyrone followed them all out
and tried to play man to man, but
there was just too much space to run
into, so a Kerry player was always
destined to make himself free back
inside the 50.
You knew this was a go-to kick-out
for Kerry as the goalkeeper made
the signal and stood over the ball
until the run came. To stop the
Mayo shorts, Tyrone will need to
concentrate on covering those
spaces between these two lines and
force the Mayo goalkeeper to play
the riskier one over heads should he
want to hit a moving target.
pressure on
Kerry’s kickouts?
The thing
that redressed
the balance,
of course, was
the incredible
turnover count
that Tyrone
amassed. Rather
than hammering
the scoreboard,
Kerry were
consistently losing possession
on these attacks. Having
watched the game back, I counted
18 times where Tyrone turned
Kerry over in the first half. That was
savage, but to be perfectly honest
I didn’t think for
a second it could be
sustained.
Yet it was. And as the kick-out
imbalance continued so did
Tyrone’s insatiable appetite
and ability to win the ball back.
Possession from kick-outs versus
counter-attacks from turnovers, with
the latter winning the day.
WILL TYRONE STICK OR TWIST?
W
E all know
that Mayo’s
strength is in
their running game,
so giving them
regular
50/50 chances at possession would
be dangerous, so Tyrone need to
have a plan B.
They must gain more first-phase
possession from their own kick-outs.
They will need to get their short
game going more frequently and
will have to bring a greater variety to
the kicks.
Mayo will press the Tyrone kickout really aggressively, but only if
they feel that Niall Morgan (left) is
looking to get the shorts away.
If Tyrone go all long from the start,
I’d fear for them on break ball.
In my opinion, the long game only
opens up when Mayo have to react to
the threat posed by the short game.
So this is why the Red Hands must
twist and mix it up.
HOW TO SOLVE A
PROBLEM LIKE AIDAN...
A
BIG talking point ahead of the
final: will Aidan O’Shea start
or not? Having watched his
captain implode on the big day once
too often, James Horan made the
bold move of taking him off against
Dublin.
Mayo looked more fluid going in
attack after he was off. So with this in
mind, will Horan start him or use him
in a cameo role?
In a perverse sort of way, as the
dust settled, I believe Aidan O’Shea
was relieved that the Mayo manager
finally substituted him.
When you aren’t playing well you
expect to be subbed and a reputation
should only take you so far.
Horan did his captain a huge favour
the last day, and going into the final
this will have sharpened his appetite
and given him a serious point to
prove. I believe there would actually
be more pressure on O’Shea coming
off the bench in a final. So I’d expect
him to start. I’ve a feeling that they
won’t want him matching up against
Ronan McNamee, so we might see
him somewhere closer to the number
11 position in the final.
Either way, I think it is in Mayo’s best
interests to start him and I think that
will happen.
THE MCSHANE/CANAVAN DILEMMA
B
OTH made a massive
contribution when introduced
the last day so the temptation
could be to start one or even both
of them. But that won’t happen as it
would disrupt their defensive plan
too much.
Canavan is the easier decision as he
will ignite a game of football every
single time he gets brought on.
McShane (above, right) will get
you a goal, but Canavan will create
opportunities out of nothing. That’s
exactly the player you want to bring
on entering the home stretch.
Against Kerry, Tyrone badly lacked a
kicking game. With McCurry doublemarked most kicks that went inside
were turned over. I believe Tyrone
could have a massive edge
on Mayo in the inside line, if they
start with McShane. He would give
that extra dimension and scoring
threat they might need. But that will
mean someone losing their place,
which may mean tweaking the
system slightly. I believe it is a risk
worth taking.
KEY BATTLE
L
EE Keegan versus Conor
McKenna – if it materialises – is
as intriguing a match-up as you
are likely to see in any All-Ireland
final.
THE VERDICT
D
RAW. I’m torn on calling this
one. It is sure to be tight right
up to the finish, so it may take
extra-time or perhaps a replay to
separate them.