AS PART OF our 2016 Hurling championship coverage, we’ve enlisted the expertise of Tipperary’s 2001 All-Ireland winning captain and former team coach Tommy Dunne.
Tommy has joined The42 for the summer and in his latest column, he takes a closer look at Kilkenny’s impressive victory over Galway in yesterday’s Leinster senior hurling final.
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Overview
This was a very competitive game for a long time, the first I’ve seen this year where the two teams went man on man from the start. No covering defenders, no sweepers, no extra man in defence. It was refreshing to see that.
Galway were in charge in the first half and while they went in at half-time three points in front, it should have been five or six.
After the break, Kilkenny took over and dictated the terms of engagement. Their work-rate increased considerably and a number of key switches paid dividends. Brian Cody introduced Richie Hogan and John Power from the bench, and both had big impacts.
TJ Reid came out of full-forward to the wing, and Walter Walsh moved into corner forward, having played on the wing in the first half. What developed was the proverbial game of two halves, much of what Kilkenny did in the second half mirroring Galway’s work in the first.
Now, I’ll go a little deeper into some of the key factors that determined the outcome of the game…
Galway’s early foothold
The reason why Galway were in charge in the first half was because their defensive game was very strong. They had Daithi Burke listed at number 6 but he went to full-back on TJ Reid from the start.
John Hanbury picked up Colin Fennelly and Galway had their match-ups spot on, with Pádraig Mannion on Eoin Larkin, Aidan Harte on Lester Ryan, Gearóid McInerney picking up Walter Walsh and Johnny Coen marking Jonjo Farrell.
TJ Reid was well held by Burke and the influence of Eoin Larkin and Colin Fennelly was negligible. Galway were excellent, with their midfielders dropping back to provide extra cover and Kilkenny had no real space to operate it in front of their full-forward line.
Galway were very much in charge from a defensive point of view and in the example, we can see how they were quick to get bodies around the ball and clear their lines:
In the first picture (above), I’ve circled eight covering Galway players when the all lands between the 14 and 20-metre lines. In the next picture, look at how quickly Galway flood that area with bodies:
They pick up possession in the next picture….
And David Burke has dropped back to take a simple pass and clear his lines:
This kind of work provided Galway with a good platform and up front, they grew into the game. Conor Whelan and Cathal Mannion, right the way through, were the pick of the forwards and had particularly good first halves.
Mannion was particularly good at finding pockets of space. In the 28th minute, he gets in between two Kilkenny defenders to pick up a long ball from defence:
Not enough pressure is applied, unusually for Kilkenny, and Mannion has time to check onto his left hand side and pop over a point:
Four minutes later, Mannion finds more space in which to operate and is well-placed to pick up a pass from Joe Canning:
The covering Kilkenny defender has yards to make up and Mannion has time to exploit the situation:
He takes the right option, cutting onto that left hand side again, making a better angle for himself before popping over the point:
Galway’s forward line was continually rotating in that first half. In the first example above, Mannion scored from the Cusack Stand side but for the second, he was over on the Hogan Stand side of the field. This movement caused Kilkenny problems in the first half but their backs weren’t getting tackles in and applying their usual pressure.
That very seldom happens, and it didn’t in the Dublin game, as I referenced in a previous column. However, it didn’t happen in the second half of yesterday’s game either, when Kilkenny put the shutters down.
When managers need to react
I started this piece by stating that it was refreshing to see both teams go 15 on 15 from the start – but it’s also important to recognise when you need to drop back an extra man.
Kilkenny are three points down at half-time and their forward line is not functioning as it should.
Cody reacts by bringing in John Power and Richie Hogan, with Power operating at at number 11 and Hogan in the number 14 position.
The trend of the game changes immediately, within the first minute of the second half, in fact, when Hogan pops up in a space almost identical to that exploited by Mannion for the Galway man’s point, which I’ve already discussed.
This time, it’s Hogan in the pocket that Mannion profited from in the first half:
You’ve seen this before with Mannion, haven’t you? Richie has the time to check onto that left hand side, as Mannion did:
The end result is a point and Kilkenny are off to a flier in the second half. The fundamental point is this: the ball comes into a place where Richie is able to go out very much unchallenged and as everybody knows, when Richie has the ball in hand he’s going to cause trouble.
John Hanbury is now picking up Richie but he allows him to get out in front and the end result is a point. The reason why teams play an extra defender is to cut out that space, so the ball never gets into a player of Richie Hogan’s quality in the first place.
But Galway didn’t do anything to counteract this and after Richie gets that ball into his hand and scores, there’s an immediate case to be made for Galway’s centre back to sit deeper, and for the midfielders to drop back.
They didn’t and Kilkenny hurt Galway just like Tipperary’s Seamus Callanan hurt Cork and Limerick in the Munster championship. Seamus was running angles, coming out towards the number 11 slot and towards the touchlines.
Kilkenny were very clever in a similar way, and when Richie came out to the half-forward line, there were times when John Power had vacated that number 11 space, moving into a different area to allow Richie the time and space to get on the ball. From there, Kilkenny are in control.
Kilkenny’s unsung hero
Conor Fogarty claimed the man-of-the-match award on The Sunday Game – and rightly so.
He scored three points from play, an excellent contribution from a midfielder, and provided the direct assist for Jonjo Farrell’s goal, which was a really good pass under pressure.
Conor, right through, had a storming game. He’s often pigeon-holed as a defensive player but that’s slightly unfair on him. This guy has an appetite for real, hard work.
One of the fundamentals of Kilkenny’s game is hooking and blocking. If someone is in the middle third of the pitch but not contributing in this area, he won’t hold down a place on the Kilkenny team.
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This guy is one of the best in the country when it comes to the arts of the game that don’t generally get man-of-the-match awards – hooking, blocking, tackling, covering.
But there’s another side of his game where he’s very strong and that was very much on display yesterday – score-taking.
But first, we see Fogarty foraging inside his own half. Note the time, the 43rd minute:
Fogarty picks up the ball before releasing a simple pass to a better-placed team-mate, allowing Kilkenny to clear their lines:
It’s simple, effective stuff but so, so vital to what Kilkenny do. We’ve highlighted Michael Fennelly in that previous column and while he had a strong second half, Fogarty was Kilkenny’s mainstay all through this Leinster final.
For the goal, he’s involved at the other end of the field and again, note the time, the 45th minute. It’s just a couple of minutes after Fogarty’s been involved in the dirtier work in his own half.
Now, he’s further forward and in a position to create something. Fogarty puts the head down and drives through:
Now, Galway have a problem. Their covering player (purple arrow) has to make a choice and he’s drawn towards Fogarty, which allows Jonjo Farrell to move into a perfect position to take a pass:
Fogarty, as he generally does, takes the right option and frees Farrell, who finds the net with a shot that admittedly, Galway goalkeeper Colm Callanan should have saved:
Galway crumble under pressure
This was a game that Galway could have won. There were aspects of their play that were very solid and they’ll take a lot out of it but they were sloppy and untidy with a number of clearances out of their back-line.
Some of that, particularly in the second half, was down to the increased pressure their defenders were coming under from Kilkenny’s forwards, as the Cats upped the ante.
Here, Johnny Coen finds himself surrounded by a posse of Kilkenny forwards:
Within two seconds, he’s completely bottled up:
As the passage of play develops, Kilkenny win the ball but Richie Hogan is turned over and Galway have possession again.
What they do with it is not good enough as Conor Cooney (wearing 15) plays a ball down the right touchline, albeit under the rising tide of Kilkenny pressure:
Cillian Buckley (circled red) picks up the loose clearance and has two options inside, either Padraig Walsh or Conor Fogarty. Walsh looks the better option but Buckley is bold and when play develops, he picks out Fogarty and the result is a point:
In those few seconds, Kilkenny turned over Galway, were turned over themselves, but picked up possession again from a loose Galway clearance and scored a point. It’s a good example of Kilkenny’s relentlessness when they get a foothold.
Another point to make here is that the deeper we got into the game, the more comfortable Kilkenny were at the back. There was one notable reason for that.
As Kilkenny put the squeeze on the Galway backs, the Galway midfielders and half forward were forced to retreat to provide extra bodies. That left a number of occasions where Galway’s defenders, when they got the ball, were forced into aimless clearances straight to Kilkenny opponents, often unmarked.
This happened because Galway’s midfield and half forwards had flooded back. That’s admirable in a sense as it shows decent work-rate but it’s also counter-productive in that there’s nobody at the other end to profit when you do win the ball.
A good example of this is as early as the 46th minute, and Joey Holden (circled), has plenty of time to drop back and pick up possession, with Galway’s attacking players well outside the 20m line, too far out to cause any real danger:
Kilkenny had the clamps on after half-time and while Joe Canning may come in for some stick after failing to score from play, maybe Galway’s rotational set-up in attack had something to do with is performance, which was admittedly non-influential.
Sometimes, if you employ a rotating strategy in the forward line, some can really benefit and both Mannion and Whelan did. They flourished particularly in the first half because they weren’t being tacked as closely as Kilkenny would have liked but Joe was one of Galway’s least effective forwards in that first half, which was very unusual.
Joe worked hard in the second half but the thing with Galway is, coming as underdogs and with a point to prove, he’s their leader, whether that sits comfortably with him or not.
He has incredibly high standards and is an unbelievable player but he does carry the pressure that goes with having to perform in big games.
What was encouraging from a Galway perspective was that other players, most notably Mannion and Whelan, stood up but if Galway are going to have an impact on the remainder of the championship, they need joe back in form.
Perhaps the rotation system knocked him out of his stride. Maybe he’d prefer to be left in one position for longer periods of the game but there was a stage in the second half where he was left on the edge of the square on Joey Holden, without much support.
Galway’s other forwards had drifted out the field and their men went with them. Joe would flourish in that one-on-one situation but no ball came in during that period. He stayed there for a few minutes but was soon gone from the edge of the square.
Overall, he had little enough influence on the game and that was definitely a problem for Galway, particularly in the second half when they were playing second fiddle and could have done with someone putting their hand up and taking charge of the game.
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Good point for United, move to within 37 of Liverpool
@Seàn Mc: Have to make up for the disappointment of yesterday somehow I suppose Seanie
@Seàn Mc: did u use a calculator for that remark??? Very surprised scouser lovers can use such a complicated machine. Well done to u!!!
@Thomas Rowe: we need a calculator to count the amount of VAR decisions United have got lately!
@Dave WR: and liverpool have never got a VAR decision their way…. the rules are the rules…..
@Paul O’Sullivan: course Liverpool have, but nowhere near the amount United have got…despite what people mite think!
@Thomas Rowe: Is a calculator really that complicated for you Tom? God help you
@Dave WR: it’s still the rules of the game. Yes we know VAR is flawed, but are you Liverpool fans seriously suggesting that there is some sort of conspiracy to give Man UTD VAR decisions in their favour ??
@Seàn Mc: and when Liverpool lift the title, how many will that be against Utd?
@Seàn Mc: True, and you can’t count how many EPL trophies Liverpool need to catch up to United on both hands either
@Dave WR: it’s ok if you can’t count no one will hold it against you. Maybe ask Santa for one at Christmas
@Thomas Rowe: don’t worry he’s probably from Norway
@chihuahua: Sky sports didn’t invent football!!
@chihuahua: Sky invented football in 1992…..
@Paul O’Sullivan: as if you Manc fans haven’t been banging on about that all season. Let’s just wait til the end of May and see which club has benefitted most.
@John Strahan: it doesn’t really matter who has benefited more.. its currently used in all premier league games… it is now part of the game,… people have been going on about referees for decades now we have this technology, to assist the referee, you complain….
It is not United’s fault if they benefit more than Liverpool from VAR, There is no hidden agenda.
@Paul O’Sullivan: hahaaa, when it works in your favour. LiVARpool has become VARchester United. Personally, I didn’t complain when Liverpool had a goal disallowed against Utd, home and away. It’s part of the game. It would not, in any way, change what Liverpool have achieved over the past 14 months. It’s does, however, reflect on Man Utds achievements, VAR has become like Ferguson’s watch, indicative of where the money men need Utd to be.
@John Strahan: you may slag Fergusson over his watch, but you have to admit it that he was the innovator of the exact injury time allocation with the fourth official uo to then it was up to the discretion of the referee. and you also must admit that Liverpool have benefited their share of injury time winners this season….. enjoy your success while it lasts because as you already know and fans of both clubs know you can go along time not winning the league after years of success.
But there is always 74,000 at Old Trafford you scouser will never match that innthe modern game…
@Paul O’Sullivan: a “bigger stadium” is that what it’s come to? Wow how the mighty have fallen. Fergie wouldn’t be impressed by tHt Paul
@Seàn Mc: great to see you sticking up for Everton your city rivals… On here last year criticising anybody who cheered on City. Hypocrite much? Your about to win the league don’t let your bitterness of utd spoil that.
@my name: bigger stadium for the bigger trophy cabinet .
@Paul O’Sullivan: that ain’t what you said though pauly is it. While you’re at it do a count on the auld trophy haul for both clubs
@my name: Manchester Utd have won 66 Trophys in Total Liverpool have 63, I have included the Community Shield.
@Paul O’Sullivan: as the charity shield has been shared at times on the official trophy haul count it doesn’t stand
@my name: both clubs are claiming Charity shields in their Honours list so it stands.
I’m sure if it were the other way round you would be happy to rub my nose in it…
@Paul O’Sullivan: not at all. The charity shield can go on a club’s honours list absolutely but when doing the official count, FIFA doesn’t recognize it due to it being shared over the years
@my name: get rid off all the Micky mouse cups then, andckeave it to Championships , Fa Cups , European Cups, UEAFA, and Cup winners Cups actual Tournaments Leafue and Group Competition UTD have more than Liverpool..
@Paul O’Sullivan: Ok we can dispute this till the cows come home after excluding one match trophies I make 43 a piece. But Liverpool will win the League this year.which will give the edge, Unless UTD pull of an FA Cup..
@Paul O’Sullivan: so back to your original post I replied to? Bigger stadium is that all you got now hahaha
Everton absolutely robbed at the end.
Everton were robbed by that VAR decision at the end
@Dow Dubrov: Incorrect. He is offside if he is interfering with play.
It’s not up to De Gea to know if he is offside or not and by pulling his legs in at the last second he has interfered with play. He was on a hiding to nothing because if he didn’t move he would have blocked the goal but regardless he has interfered with play.
Harsh on Everton but correct.
@Mark Coote: how many times do players move out of the way of the ball and are deemed to be not interfering with play. Goal should have stood.
@Mark Coote: How was he interfering with play? De Gea had a clear line of sight to the strike. He moved to his right to try and save it before the deflection. Once it was deflected, there was no way De Gea was going to get near it. Sigurdsson’s presence had no impact on the play whatsover
@Mark Coote: not so sure. The movement from DeGea when the ball was struck would indicate that Sigurdson didn’t obstruct his line of sight, and the deflection rendered the offside void. Moving his legs didn’t interfere with play as the ball was going in.
@Mark Coote: how can he be offside when the ball through deflected off a united player?
@Karl Cranny: its offside because it is in favour of utd simple
@Karl Cranny: He is still offside when the ball is struck before the deflection.
@Mark Coote: correct
@John Strahan: evidence you are wrong is that the referee and officals using var implement the rules and deemed the player offside – doesn’t matter if you don’t like it or disagree with the rules -he was offside
As a United fan, that was the first of the recent VAR decisions that I thought was incorrect. Everton could have had a penalty for the tackle of Sigurdsson and ruling the goal out was harsh. Completely got away with that
@Mossy: he didn’t touch the ball in the end. Not offside
@Ross: think it was given because the keepers view was impeded by an offside player
@Ross: was in an offside position and adjusted his body(pulled his legs away) to directly influence the direction of the ball. Rules are rules regardless if he touched it or not. If he hadn’t moved his legs the ball would have hit him
@A Cos: de gea was getting nowhere near it.. He didn’t touch the ball. Its a goal. United get away it it
@A Cos: seriously? Not touching the ball influenced it’s direction? That’s a new one
@Ross: you don’t have to touch the ball to interfere. That rules has been there a long time. Saying that I thought it was harsh De Gea was getting nowhere near it either way
@A Cos: how can he be offside when the ball through deflected off a United player?
@Karl Cranny: he was offside when the shot was taken. Offside all day. He moved out of the way of the ball therefor he interfered with play!
@Joe: how can you interfere by not influencing anything at all? The deflection had DeGea heading the wrong way (off a United player), he was on his arse (I wonder how that happened) and didn’t even touch the ball. United fans are bending and twisting the rules in their favour yet again. No offside and no interface.
@Karl Cranny: he was “interfering” with play, in an off side position. This is not a new concept.
@James Reardon: the fact the keeper moved, correctly, in the direction the original ball was struck would suggest that his view was not impeded by the opposition player on the ground. It was a weak call. But if I was a SKY executive, concerned about whether Man Utd or Sheffield Utd, or Wolves, got into Europe, it’s the call I’d make.
@Mossy: agree with you on that, but at Old Trafford thought the Everton goal should have been disallowed for the challenge on De Gea so maybe it all balances out in the end
@Karl Cranny: utd fans bending and twisting the rules??? VAR not make the decision?
How United fans can come up with LiVARpool baffles me, more like Varchester United, that was a perfectly fine goal at the end
@Karl Cranny: and I remember Liverpool getting a perfectly good goal disallowed for a push in De Gea.
@Ciarán Ó Dubhda: …for every flip up where De Gea costs United a goal, some ref saves him from conceding another at this stage.
@Ciarán Ó Dubhda: and uniteds goal in the 1.1 at OT had a foul on origi.. Also not even looked at by var
@Patrick Fitzgerald: that goal was looked at by var ffs, the the decision was no foul given as origi dived.
Robbed at the end Everton, de gea gettin nowhere near that ball even if a Sumo wrestler was in front of him!!
@Dougal67: what are you on about????
@devils avacado: I’ll type slowly for yeh dev, he wasn’t gettin to the ball anyway!!!
@Dougal67: They actually have it for blocking the view of the keeper on the shot. Replays clearly show DeGea had a perfect view. Poor decision
Varchester united… Thats the fourth time in the last few games that they’ve been bailed out by var, three times against chelsea and now against everton
@Eoin Murphy: and every time VAR was correct
@Sean Dalton: except for the Maguire red card, the 1st Chelsea goal and now the Everton goal!
@Sean Dalton: how so? It wasn’t offside as the Ball deflected through off a United player, that also eliminates the interference call. Varchester United strikes again.
@Karl Cranny: go away and learn the rules of football. Comeback when you understand the offside rule!
@Dave WR: jaysus if all you can do is be miserable and obsess about a 5th place man united when your team is winning the league by so much maybe its time you should find some other sport or hobby ffs
Varchester United again… If it was the other way around, goal
If it was offside them should it not have been brought back for a penalty. Sigurdsson got taken out of it when shooting. And it was a shocking offside decision. De gea was never getting and how could he have his view blocked
Utd are miles better with Bruno in the team, the whole team actually looks like they have a game plan now,, all the players are much more comfortable on the ball and the team look capable and of scoring goals. The difference a real world class player can make to the team,, Everton a little unlucky at the end, Carlo has them playing much better since he arrived, another team that has a good attacking threat. IMO.
@devils avacado: well said.
@devils avacado: they are playing Everton. Don’t get too carried away
I’m sure that would have been ruled out if it was a United winner at OT in the 92nd min……
@Dave WR: Similarly, Keane and Souness would have been singing a very different tune in the studio at the end.
Bruno best player on the pitch but credit to de gea and Pickford after the mistakes with World class saves.utd got out of jail.. Thank you var
De Gea is already beaten by the deflection and is going the wrong way. Sigurdsson does not effect his decision to go right in an attempt to save the ball.
Ill take that result all day. Bruno looked good again. Matic also had a good game.
@Brian Dunne: Matic good player but can’t run like he used to.
@Martin McKenna: matic never had pace hence why he was always a holding midfielder, never box to box has been bang in form last few months. Very underrated.
Can’t wait to hear the United mangers post game interview : Ole Gonna Sulk Sher
How easy a chance does igahlo need to score..
@Sean Murphy: he hit the target to be fair. Great save
Nothing to do with var,no var they would have disallowed it anyway,if it was for united they would have let it stand
@Thomas Ryan: it was giving before VAR were you watching the match or off at a gaa game?????
Mancs are now +8 with Var decisions this season more than anyone else, for comparison Liverpool and City are both +1, from ESPN.com.
Also have the most penalties awarded for (10) and only one against.
For the majority of the season so far, Manc fans have been consistently commenting about officiating decisions favouring Liverpool but as can be seen clearly from the numbers,they have benefitted the Mancs most who are still 37 points adrift.
@Peter Dunne: you do know it’s banter Peter? None of us play for either team… Congrats on been 37 points ahead of utd. I’m sure jurgan klopp has really appreciated your contribution this season.
@Peter Dunne: Refs have handed united many a league over the years, its obvious the FA is bent…..just thank god they are not up the top of the league because all of the above could be the difference between winning and losing a title, 10 penos and countless dodgy var calls going their way…..its not an accident.
@Peter Hughes: rather than come on here with this info maybe you should put a report together about corruption in English football? Go to the English police with this report. No room for corruption in sport of any kind. Particularly the var calls, your info could revolutionise the game in England possibly the world. I for one back you.
@Peter Hughes: tin foil hat stuff lads.
Football is obviously very emotive and especially when scoring, or conceding goals, but I wonder will it ever happen that players won’t be in such a rush to complain and berate the referee in the immediate aftermath, given that every goal now, is checked by VAR, and the ref, like everyone else, is just an interested onlooker at that point!
@Joe L: see the United players over to shout at the referee after goal was given, just like the game at Anfield. Some things never change
Everton, like many of the bottom half sides, are the Stoke of the premier league. Get stuck in and are constantly looking for a set piece to try and capitalise on. Not easy on the eye but effective all the same.