I WENT to the Athletic Grounds on Sunday afternoon to watch two of the best club teams play in their Ulster semi-final. I went in hope that I, like others, was going to witness an absolute cracker.
Truth be told, I was left a bit disappointed. There were some glimpses of high-quality play, and every time we witnessed something good happen, the crowd responded, but there just wasn’t enough of it.
I don’t think either team played anywhere close to their potential but that was down to the nature and set-up of their opponents. The better team Kilcoo won out in the end as they played with more conviction and were prepared to penetrate the Glen defence more often with their pacy support runs.
In this regard, I was really impressed with the support play overall of Kilcoo and how they were always willing to make a break at speed and drag Glen into areas where they could potentially hurt them.
Watch the many runs that Ryan McEvoy made into and beyond the Glen half-back line. This caused endless problems for Glen, but it was the pace at which he was continuously going at that I was even more impressed by. Remember that this guy plays at full-back, yet he is equally comfortable playing high up the field and was always a viable option to play the ball to when in these advanced roles.
The same can be said of Miceál Rooney, who kicked two excellent points after making hard breaks forward. Pace is a key element in the modern game and if you decide to slow the ball down, then momentum is gone and it allows your opponent to set themselves up well and limit the gaps to create scoring opportunities. Glen played into Kilcoo’s hands doing that and they didn’t move the ball forward fast enough to hurt their experienced opponents.
They were content to play it sideways and, a lot of the time, backways but you will never beat a shrewd team like Kilcoo indulging in that type of play.
I was expecting to see more driving runs forward by Ciaran McFaul, Conor Glass and Emmet Bradley but these openings did not present themselves because they didn’t break fast enough.
Conor Glass scored an exceptional point in the first half by committing to take on his man, using his strength by holding him off and then kicking the ball over from 35 yards, but we wanted to see more of this from them. Glen are an extremely talented football team and have more than enough in their artillery to do this, but maybe their lack of experience and know-how at this level was their downfall.
Kilcoo are now back in the Ulster final and have rightly been installed as favourites for the All-Ireland title, and the one thing that they know a lot about is how to seal the deal and find a way to win. A goal in a tight match like this was always going to be the defining moment and when the opportunity presented itself, at the misfortune of the Glen goalkeeper, they pounced on it and from that moment onwards, they were never losing this match.
Credit must be given to Kilcoo and their management team on the physical shape that they are in. They are always willing to put the hard yards in and no doubt over the festive period, there will be absolutely no easing up in their end as they will ramp up preparations to face Derrygonnelly.
Glen will learn a lot from this experience and I doubt we have seen the last of them playing their football at this level. They are a young team with their eldest player being 28, and with the knowledgeable Malachy O’Rourke guiding them, expect a more fine-tuned Glen in 2022. That in itself is a scary prospect.
Unfortunately from an Armagh perspective, on Saturday evening, Clann Éireann’s remarkable season came to a close, but they can hold their heads high knowing that they gave it their all, but just came up against a
fearsome Derrygonnelly outfit, well-seasoned in playing Ulster club football. I only got to watch some of the second half but in this period Clann Éireann dominated possession but were more wasteful in front of the posts than we have seen so far from them this year.
To compete against the big teams, every chance must be nailed and they now know that. Like Glen, they are a young side and will feel there is more to come from them. Hopefully, they will inspire a more competitive Armagh club scene with other outfits looking at them and what they achieved.
Happy Christmas to each and every one of you and let’s look forward to more great games in 2022.
