The Irish Independent's View: Pure play replaces puke football as shrewd Kerry take All-Ireland football title
Puke football is in the past. The era of the blanket defence smothering the opposition was killing off Gaelic football as a spectacle, and is now consigned to history.
The phrase, famously coined by Pat Spillane, summed up how football was becoming a turn-off. The excitement of hurling, with its fast-paced scoring, was shining an unpleasant spotlight on Gaelic football. But, all told, this has been a season where Gaelic football was reborn, thanks to the rule changes brought in to liven up the game.
The two points for kicks outside the 40-metre arc encouraged long-range kicking. The minimum of three players in each half of the pitch reduced the ability to employ all-out defence. The changes influenced how teams approached kick-outs, scoring and defence, and made the game fairer.
The excessive use of the hand-pass and the retention of possession by moving the ball over and back across the middle to the third of the field remain a feature of the game. So it's not perfect. But the new rules have seen an increase in scoring and long-range shooting.
The first final under the new system saw Kerry – the traditional artisans of the game – take on Donegal, who had masterminded a whole new form of zonal defence in their last title win, but had adapted best of all to the new rules.
The All-Ireland final was full of intriguing subplots. Jack O'Connor versus Jim McGuinness on the sidelines ensured the game would be strategically fascinating. David Clifford of Kerry, establishing himself as a player for the ages, against Michael Murphy of Donegal, the county's greatest player now returned from retirement for one last tilt at the Sam Maguire.
In McGuinness's first term as Donegal manager, the county had won the title and were then stopped by Kerry on the way to a second win. O'Connor is back in his third term as Kerry manager and has proven his ability to balance the Kingdom's attacking flair with a steely defence.
The two best teams in the country faced off in Croke Park. It wasn't the greatest final of all time, but it was intriguing nonetheless. Kerry won the technical and the tactical battle. The Kingdom used greater degrees of energy, skill and savvy to win.
The 10-point margin possibly flattered them a little as Donegal put it up to them at various stages of the game, particularly in the second half when they whittled away at Kerry's lead.
But the 10 points is also significant, as it matches the tally from the five two-pointers – from David Clifford and Seán O'Shea – that Kerry scored across the game. O'Connor takes the plaudits for the decisions taken on the touchline.
Kerry's masterful performance matched whatever Donegal had to throw at them, but also proved to be a fine example of the new rules in action.
Hopefully, it's not a one-off, and teams at club- and county-level alike will see that offensive approaches are the way to go in the coming season.
From puke football to pure play.
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Irish Times
33 minutes ago
- Irish Times
How Kerry pulled off tactical masterclass to beat Donegal in All-Ireland final
One of the best podcasts on sports coaching in Gaelic games was released exactly two years ago, ahead of the Kerry v Dublin All-Ireland final. In an interview with Ger Gilroy on Off The Ball, Cian O'Neill gave a real insight into his coaching philosophy. One of the key aspects of the interview comes at around the 20-minute mark where he talks about role clarity, role acceptance and role execution. He stresses role acceptance is the most crucial, along with the trust within the group on that, as well as the strategy being co-created with the players. Merge that with the insight from his Sunday Game banquet interview, where he referenced having more than 40 coaches (ie the players on the field) involved in the set-up and you see how a tactical masterclass was delivered on the biggest stage by Kerry last Sunday. READ MORE Role clarity The maps below show where some of the key Kerry players got possessions. Much has been made of the 76 possessions that Paudie Clifford got in the final (we will explore the how of that a little more in the role acceptance section). He was fulfilling a role that was afforded to him by the Donegal structure. His pivot role between the 45 and 65 was executed with precision. He was rarely under any pressure in his possessions as he soloed the ball left and right with ease, and surveyed the options in front of him. Possession maps for some of Kerry's key players. Seán O'Shea played a similar role to Paudie at times, while at other times he operated in the 15 corner at the corner of the arc, mirroring David Clifford on the far side. The positioning of O'Shea and David Clifford were absolutely crucial in stretching the Donegal defence. This allowed Gavin White to raid forward down the left wing twice in the opening minutes for a score and again in the second half. Gavin White's early raid with Mark O'Shea and Sean O'Brien positioned high, stretching Donegal. White line break in final quarter, Diarmuid O'Connor has now assumed high midfield role. Role acceptance Again there has been talk of David Clifford's periods of splendid isolation during the game as he brought Brendan McCole to the outskirts of the pitch. This showed a huge level of leadership from a player of such talents. He operated in that right channel of the pitch and allowed Paudie to operate centrally, while Gavin White profited off the weaker side of the defence. It was smart but not unexpected as McCole was always going to stick to the Fossa man closely. McCole did turn over Clifford twice in the game - in a game were Kerry didn't offer up turnovers easily, he cemented his All Star. A typical attacking shape for Kerry during the All-Ireland final. The two players who are maybe not receiving their fair share of the plaudits are Seán O'Brien and Mark O'Shea. They were the epitome of role acceptance. During structured attacks they were always the highest and when Diarmuid O'Connor entered the fray he continued on this 'team/position' role. This wasn't without personal reward as O'Brien scored two points, one from the above picture as he fisted over, and a second below as he came from inside out as Gavin White popped him the ball, with again Mark O'Shea highest. One of the biggest aspects of this move was how it pinned Peadar Mogan so far back the field. The build-up to Seán O'Brien's second point - another score built off a disciplined attacking structure. The structure to the Kerry attack all day, assisted by the passive Donegal zonal defence, meant they could execute rehearsed plays with conviction. The below image of an attack in the early stages of the second half really illustrates the possession control that was in place. Kerry used a set attacking structure to attack the Donegal zonal defence. Another key moment came in the 16th minute when Paudie Clifford checked the run of Peadar Mogan after a rare Kerry mistake, before a Mark O'Shea turnover which afforded David Clifford a breakaway point. Paudie Clifford's check on Peadar Mogan stops supporting run. Role execution Everyone knowing their role and being willing to accept it is one thing, but you must be able to execute and punish. This requires leadership and steel - both were in abundance in the Kerry dressingroom and on the field. The captain has a role in setting the tone. Kerry won both throw-ins with Gavin White raiding forward off both. In the first half he won the break off Mark O'Shea and drove through the heart of the Donegal defence before offloading to Dylan Geaney who opened the Kingdom's account. At the start of the move there was a theatrical jump from Ryan McHugh, as White started his run. The second half started the same with a breaking ball, this time McHugh went to meet the Kerry captain and White went through him, leaving the Kilcar man requiring attention to his shoulder - the phase finished with a Seán O'Shea point. Kerry's Gavin White winning breaks at the start of each half. White wasn't the only leader, there were two particular enforcers on the Kerry team, who led throughout. Seán O'Shea man showed leadership when he came really deep for a Shane Ryan kickout in the second half. He wanted possession deep all day and took the responsibility to carry out from there. The reaction of the Kenmare man when Donegal tried to test the shoulder of the returning Diarmuid O'Connor showed the togetherness of the Kerry team. Kerry's Seán O'Shea coming deep into pocket to take kickout. Seán O'Shea moves to help protect the returning Diarmuid O'Connor. Joe O'Connor won clean kickouts throughout the encounter, and he had an important block as Donegal attempted a two-pointer in the 49th minute. Then he finished the game off by rocketing the ball to the back of the net in the last minute. Killian Spillane assisted the goal, who received the ball off his Templenoe clubmate Tadgh Morley, a leader of Kerry for years. Joe O'Connor block down on rare Donegal two-point attempt. Joe O'Connor senses something is on and drives forward for Kerry's late goal. The Kingdom's true leader was David Clifford. Every score he landed energised the crowd, and they energised him. The humility to spend time on the outskirts to benefit others was fascinating to watch - his first possession only came after eight minutes. When he came into phases on high Kerry turnovers in the first half he returned 0-3 in seconds. His point in the 11th minute hasn't received as much attention as it deserves. 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