ON a few occasions recently, I have had a few people remark to me that they just don’t see what the big deal is with Conor Glass.
It really frustrates me to hear these kinds of comments, in the same way people have said that Michael Murphy was overrated.
To say that Glass is underappreciated and misunderstood would be an understatement.
I had no problem breaking down his role and explaining to the doubters just how important he is to this Derry team, but I feel at times my analysis just falls on deaf ears.
After his withdrawal against Dublin in the Division Two final and then again on Saturday night in the Ulster Championship against Fermanagh, I feel the only explanation needed is to say: Look how vulnerable Derry are defensively when he isn’t on the pitch.
After he went off against Dublin, Dessie Farrell’s men banged in three goals and on Saturday night Che Cullen rammed in two brilliant efforts for Kieran Donnelly’s team.
Fermanagh should have had at least another goal only for a brilliant Brendan Rogers block.
Derry would be favourites for Ulster and genuine All-Ireland contenders but with one caveat: Conor Glass must remain fit and on the pitch for the duration.
With 11 different scorers on the night, the progression of this Derry team under Rory Gallagher’s stewardship was perfectly highlighted by the that their first three scores of the game came from their goalkeeper and two members of the full-back line.
No-one can accuse Fermanagh for being overly cautious or playing a game of damage limitation. Playing with the wind in the first half, it was pretty much man-to-man everywhere.
The Erne county were going for it. The difficulty with that approach was that it exposes your weaknesses very quickly.
As an attacking force Derry are so confident in their own skin they push all 15 players up into attack with great depth, width and rotational structure. So, when you set up in a man v man formation it only takes one dip of the shoulder or one lapse in concentration to be carved open.
Mismatches can materialise and with the class that Derry have, it played right into their hands.
Ethan Doherty, Paul Cassidy and that man Shane McGuigan revelled to make it death by a thousand cuts. McGuigan and Cassidy’s goals were both engineered by making a run towards the ball carrier followed by a fast turn towards goal.
Cassidy’s goal was a calamity from a Fermanagh perspective and another example of defensive naivety.
A brilliant ball over the top by goalkeeper Lynch sent Cassidy away but as he strode towards the Fermanagh 13-metre line he was dispossessed.
In that moment they had more than enough men there to deal with the situation. Ryan Jones was tucked in as sweeper but instead of meeting Cassidy or gobbling up the spilled ball he watched Cassidy run past to get a second bite at it.
Equally, Aidan Breen was man-marking a Derry player who was no threat to their goal.
Regardless of how they were set up as a defensive unit, there seemed to be no understanding of assessing risk and reacting to the greatest threat at that moment in the game.
Derry put a hard press on the Fermanagh kickout early in the game, which was no surprise.
But, to their cost the Ernemen didn’t seek to generate enough movement to pick out any shorter range kicks. With the wind at their backs, it seemed they wanted to play a game of risk-reward.
They chose to go long with the wind and potentially catch Derry and Lynch out with the long one. But bar one moment towards the end of the half there was no evidence that this was actually working. The first five kickouts they hit long were all won by Derry.
After that period Fermanagh dominated their own kickout and lost very few but the scoreboard was already heavily against them. At the other end of the pitch Fermanagh’s man-to-man approach on the Derry kickout was picked apart by Lynch as he found 18 possessions from 19 attempts. The balance of possession when the game was a contest weighed heavily in favour of the Oak Leafers.
MAGICAL, magnificent madness.
Never mind the Ulster Championship, what an advertisement Monaghan’s win over Tyrone was for Gaelic football. It will go down as one of the all-time great games and can stand in the company of any match I am old enough to remember.
With 44 minutes on the clock and a goal between the sides, a rampant Monaghan and Conor McManus had the goal at their mercy.
A great save by Niall Morgan thwarted the chance and this was followed up by a missed 45 from Rory Beggan.
That can suck the life of a team, especially one that has failed so many times against the same opponent in the past. Not Vinny Corey’s men.
When the ball was laid-off to Stephen O’Hanlon a goal didn’t look on. But the brilliant turn and acceleration from the Monaghan man opened the way for a game-changing moment.
But when you have the brilliance of Darragh Canavan, Darren McCurry and Conn Kilpatrick the momentum of a game can change in any given moment.
A monster McManus free looked like the deal was sealed but a brace from McCurry signalled Monaghan’s race was finally run.
Ryan O’Toole didn’t read the script, however, nor did he take the easy option of a fisted point to guarantee extra-time.
He just went for it and boy what a moment for a lad making his Championship debut. Healy Park yesterday witnessed Two heavyweights going toe-to-toe, landing massive blows.
The Farney had the Red Hands on the canvas at just the right time.