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Irish Times
a day ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Tactical analysis: Down will need to share scoring burden around more to knock out Galway
It can be difficult to get an accurate representation of a team's actual progress over a number of years. Often, we are blinded by landmark victories. The Gaelic Football ELO ratings, diligently kept on X/Twitter by Shane Mangan, are a manner to actually track a team's progression or regression. ELO ratings are essentially used as a way to rank a team based on their results, factoring in variables such as match importance, home advantage and standard of opposition. It is similar to the type of system used to determine world rankings by Fifa or World Rugby. In the past few years, there have been teams who have had large rises in the rankings in one season, such as Meath this year, with victories over higher ranked teams like Dublin and Kerry. READ MORE Roscommon are a good example of a team who have fluctuated in the rankings in recent years, from a high of 7th to their current position of 13th. The steady movers in the rankings are Down. Since the arrival of Conor Laverty in August 2022, Down have moved from 19th place to their current position of 12th. They have quietly risen, usually winning the games they should win and losing the games they are expected to lose. They now face Galway (Sunday, Pairc Esler, 1.45pm) who are ranked 2nd - could a major upset be on the cards? Down are not a team who have generated much media attention, as since Laverty's arrival they have mostly played off-Broadway. Yes, they have played in the Ulster championship, but they have yet to be a real contender in Laverty's three seasons. Their progress has been in promotion up to Division Two of the league, only to get narrowly relegated in 2025. They landed the Tailteann Cup in 2024, beating Laois in the final, having fallen at the final hurdle in 2023 to Meath. A favourable draw in this year's round robin saw them beat Clare and narrowly overcome neighbours Louth, before falling to Monaghan in the clash for top of the group in the final round. Down have been consistently, quietly building. What about their strengths and why do they have a chance of beating Galway? Well, it is in Newry and Laverty has tapped into Down football heritage by making it a fortress, but some of what they are doing on the field could make the difference. While Laverty may be a Kilcoo man, who are known for their restrictive style of football, he was often the forward who showed real creativity and this Down team shows that inventiveness within a structure. A lot of their attacking nous revolves around Danny Magill, Odhran Murdock and Pat Havern. At this current juncture, I believe Danny Magill is a nailed on All Star in terms of his explosiveness on the ball and his ability to beat men one-on-one, but also his foraging and defensive duties back the field. Down have relied heavily on Danny Magill, Odhran Murdock and Pat Havern for scores throughout the championship. To date in the Championship, these three men have scored 0-73, which represents 56% of their total scored (6-113). No other Down players have scored in every game, showing a lack of consistent support and a big dependency on the three attacking sparks. In the Donegal game, where the Down attack was so often stunted, there was particular attention paid to Murdock and how he looks to break a line. Michael Langan was detailed to mark the Burren man from the outset and never gave him any opportunity to break lines, leading to his one scoring blank this season. Donegal stopped Odhran Murdock getting on the scoresheet, with Michael Langan tagging him closely here. It is likely that Galway have identified these three men and they will have players working in a system to shut them down. Each of the three men offer different attributes meaning particular match-ups are required. Murdock has huge power and is hard to stop when running direct. He showed that against Louth after winning the throw-in, as he rampaged straight down the middle for a two-pointer. Magill has really been Down's go-to man this season, showcasing a wide variety of skills. He was a key man for kickouts against Donegal, showing for the ball for Ronan Burns, as well as winnings breaks off Donegal's restarts. Danny Magill bursts into a pocket of space to receive a short kickout against Donegal. He has carried the ball through the middle all season and is constantly looking to set up opportunities to run at men one-on-one using his blinding pace. Magill isolates his man to take him on one-on-one against Monaghan. Against Louth, Magill uses a stutter step to create a gap for a more direct route to goal. Havern has tended to operate as a distance shooter, hanging around outside the arc, picking off two-pointers and jinking inside to higher percentage shooting positions. Down are getting their shots off, as they outshot Donegal 26 shots to 25, but their shooting efficiency was only 54% on the day. They will need others to carry the load too against Galway. Pat Havern drifts into space, and has enough time to successfully kick a two-pointer. If Down are to take a scalp, they will need to eliminate basic errors. While Havern has been a maverick in scoring two-pointers and conjuring points from a standing start, he will need to be quicker in his use of possession. He fouled the ball technically twice against Donegal and was pulled up for a double bounce against Monaghan inside his own arc. What will annoy Laverty about this is that there was a longer kickout option for Burns and then an immediate kick pass option not seen by Havern, after he received the kickout. Either one of these would have put Down on the attack. Down had good options at this kickout, but Havern's double bounce led to a turnover. While much was made of Jack McCarron picking the ball up off the ground for his goal, the cause of the goal is of more importance. It was a basic skill execution error; a low handpass to feet, that led to the Monaghan turnover inside the Down 45m line. They cannot be turning ball over in this manner. A simple error led to Jack McCarron's second half goal for Monaghan. Equally they have been caught with three v three breaches in their last two games, resulting in 0-3 conceded. Small margins are crucial if they are to step up another level. Small margins are at play in their kickouts too. They have shown some innovation in the kickout zone, with a lot of high risk, high reward kickouts, eye of a needle stuff. In general it has worked well for them, but Monaghan managed to pick them off on a short kickout, leading to Mícheál Bannigan's goal. Down were caught out by Monaghan, as a short kickout was intercepted directly before Mícheál Bannigan's goal. Down are trying to get set up further out the field, often in a spine formation, and then break into pockets closer to their own goal. A couple of graphics emphasise this below. Down will need to be brave, but also smart, as they get ready for a Galway front eight who will look to punish anything that goes astray. Down setting up in a spine formation for a kickout against Donegal. They try the same kickout routine to go short against Louth here. Louth profited at times with their second half squeeze, not allowing Down out of their own half. Down will have to transition the ball faster into the safety of the Galway half this weekend. Louth also punished Down when short kickouts went astray. Steady progress has been made and Down can definitely take a scalp, but they will need their key men to fire, be decisive in possession and eliminate unforced errors across the field. Down have kicked the ball infrequently in games, but used it to good effect along with intelligent inside movement for John McGeough's goal against Monaghan. They will need to use all the tools at their disposal for a win against the Tribesmen. Down played more direct at times, with Jordan McGeough getting on the end of a kick pass and hitting the back of the net against Monaghan. Paul O'Brien is a performance analyst with The Performance Process.
Irish Times
3 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Gerry Thornley: The true story of Leinster in the 2020s is one of remarkable success
In the decade between 2012 and 2021, Mayo reached six All-Ireland football finals and lost them all – three of them by a single point and one of those after a replay. Including the draw in 2016, their average losing margin in seven finals was less than 2.5 points. Some people apparently regard them as chokers, which is a joke really. As John Barclay said on Premier Sports last Saturday, losing a semi-final is possibly preferable to doing so in a final. In truth, for that Mayo team to keep picking themselves up off the canvas after each bitter disappointment in order to start all over again in pursuit of their holy grail shows incredible strength of character. It would be so much easier to give up and walk away. Three of their six losses were against Jim Gavin's six-in-a-row side, widely considered to be the best Gaelic football team of all time. Nobody pushed that Dubs side harder than Mayo. No other county came close. Yet they received nothing like the same scrutiny. By comparison, they were all given a free pass. Yes, you can see where this is going. At the recent Rugby Players of Ireland awards ceremony, Andrew Trimble, in his inimitably laconic way, asked Mayo native Caelan Doris if he had passed on the curse. To which Doris replied he has actually won at Croke Park. READ MORE Perhaps there is a slight irony in Doris, Jack Conan and Cian Healy finally lifting Leinster's first trophy in four seasons there last Saturday after an emphatic 32-7 win over the Bulls . Again, though, some jokers still regard this Leinster side as chokers. This is because, since their 2021 Pro14 success behind closed doors, Leinster had lost three successive Champions Cup finals against La Rochelle, in Marseille and Dublin, and Toulouse, in London. In May, they added a Champions Cup semi-final defeat to Northampton at home. The province had also lost three successive URC semi-finals. The margins in those seven defeats were: three points, one, nine (having finished level after 80 minutes), three, one, one and five. In every one, the game was in the balance until the last play of the 80 minutes. Leinster's Johnny Sexton talks to referee Wayne Barnes during the 2022 Champions Cup final. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Leinster certainly haven't been awash with luck. They'd have won the 2022 Champions Cup final in Marseille but for Wayne Barnes penalising Ross Molony in the jackal on the premise that Michael Alaalatoa hadn't rolled away. No amount of replays will convince Molony or this columnist that the Leinster prop hadn't sufficiently manoeuvred himself out of the way. One final where the 'choker' tag might have some validation is the 27-26 loss to La Rochelle in 2023. Leinster had led by 17-0 and then 23-7, but they didn't score a point after the 46th minute. That statistic and zero second-half passes between the entire backline outside Ross Byrne was evidence of how they stopped playing. Still, that was Ronan O'Gara's La Rochelle team at their irresistible best. They deserved credit for the comeback, which had shades of Leinster's fightback in the 2011 decider against Northampton. In the pulsating 2024 final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, Leinster came within a whisker of sealing a win in the 80th minute via Ciarán Frawley's drop goal attempt. He nailed two against the Springboks in Durban a few weeks later. Again, they received hardly any of the 50-50 calls from Matthew Carley, most notably when identical offences by Anthony Jelonch and James Lowe – in slapping the ball over the touchline – received contrasting punishments. Toulouse were widely acclaimed as the best French club side ever, with the sport's greatest player as their captain and talisman. Further putting that epic 2024 final in London into perspective, five weeks later Toulouse beat Bordeaux Bègles by 59-3 at the Stade de France, a record winning margin for a final in the history of the French Championship. Only one other team has reached three successive Champions Cup finals but, naturally, Leinster receive little or no credit for that, or for much else. In the last four seasons they've won 91 matches, drawn one and lost 20. In the Champions Cup they've won 27 out of 31 games. They've put 40 on Toulouse (twice) and La Rochelle, whom they've also beaten twice in a row away. They've entertained royally, played some thrilling rugby and scored oodles of great tries. Leinster's Andrew Porter celebrates with champagne in the dressing room after the URC final. Photograph: Ben Brady/Inpho In the aftermath of Saturday's final, head coach Leo Cullen – who might well have considered stepping down had Leinster not won – wondered aloud as to what constitutes success or failure. The line between them is not so blurred anymore, and in Leinster's case it is seemingly judged solely by whether they win the Champions Cup or not. Hence, the one that got away is this year's defeat against Northampton, one of only two semi-final losses suffered by home sides in the last decade. As Tommy O'Brien admitted – although Ryan Baird refutes the theory utterly – Leinster were 'flat' in their ensuing games but rediscovered their buzz in the last fortnight when convincingly dethroning the champions and then their nearest challengers, who beat them in last season's semi-finals. That still doesn't completely ease the pain from that Northampton defeat, which has been deemed a non-show but was perhaps more accurately a delayed show in what was one of the games of the season. It must still bemuse Leinster as much as us, and in the absence of a Antoine Dupont-less Toulouse, is compounded by Bordeaux Bègles awaiting in a Cardiff final and thoughts of what might have been. Ultimately, though, Leinster won one of only two trophies on offer and reached the semi-final of the other. They also won 25 of 28 matches. They earned a half-dozen home play-off ties to further swell the coffers. They provided a record dozen Lions. Season ticket holders are up to 15,000 ahead of returning to an expanded RDS. With any other club, region or province, that would be considered a successful season. Anyone other than Leinster. The URC has never been harder to win and yet no team has ever been more deserving champions. Maybe it's time they cut themselves a little slack. And maybe it's time we did too. gerrythornley@
Irish Times
4 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Live All-Ireland football draw: Dublin, Kerry and Galway to learn their opponents
All-Ireland SFC preliminary quarter-final & Tailteann Cup semi-final draws to take place at 8.30am -35 minutes ago Good morning, after a dramatic weekend of gaelic football which saw Mayo knocked out of the All-Ireland series, the draw for the preliminary quarter-finals takes place this morning. Kerry , Dublin , Donegal and Galway are all in the hat after failing to top their groups. All the teams that came second in their round-robin group will play at home this weekend to whichever team from the third-placed pot they are drawn against. Kerry's David Clifford with Meath's Seán Rafferty and Seán Coffey. Photograph: INPHO/Tom O'Hanlon The draw for the Tailteann Cup semi-finals will also take place this morning. Follow live updates throughout the morning here. All-Ireland second placed teams: Dublin, Donegal, Down, Kerry. All-Ireland third placed teams: Cavan, Cork, Galway, Louth. Key Reads Malachy Clerkin: Mayo exit championship in most Mayo way possible after survival instincts let them down Read Paul Fitzpatrick's weekend round-up here as he says Meath are officially back at the top table. Donegal's Jim McGuinness criticises choice of Dr Hyde Park as neutral venue against Mayo
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Relentless Donegal refuse to let Mayo escape from their grasp
All-Ireland SFC: Donegal 0-19 Mayo 1-15 For a long time, a sense of inevitability hung over this. Donegal controlled the scoreboard for most of the match. Mayo battled hard to keep in touch but never quite managed to seize the initiative. Then, with a minute left and the margin down to one, they attacked once more and with the sands of time running through the hourglass, replacement Fergal Boland struck for a point. Level at 1-15 to 0-18. A draw would see both teams through. There were so few seconds left it was conjecture whether Shaun Patton get away the kickout. He did and Donegal substitute Jason McGee, back on the field for the first time in the All-Ireland stages, rose for the ball and moved it on to the excellent Ciarán Moore, whose driving run and step inside eluded Mayo's defence and he kicked the winner. Time up, hooter blown and Mayo out. READ MORE A frustrated Stephen Rochford, managing the team in Kevin McStay's absence, acknowledged that both teams would have wanted to win. 'That's just the way these teams look at it. You know, I don't think, even though a draw would have done both teams, I don't think either would have been happy with a draw. And, you know, we certainly came into this with no view other than we wanted to win the game.' The lapse against Cavan had left Mayo in a bind – not being able to survive a head-to-head if they could get no more than two points, a fate they were unable to prevent. Rochford's counterpart Jim McGuinness agreed. 'Ciarán had no context of what was happening I suppose in terms of groups and anything else, but we said that we wanted to try and win this game.' Mayo's Ryan O'Donoghue reacts to a missed chance. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho It was another nail-biter that ended in a Donegal victory. The Ulster champions looked the better team for long stretches. They were nearly caught at the end but could have had a couple of goals: Mogan blazed over early, Eoghán Bán Gallagher was high and wide and Colm Reape saved after a searing run by Shane O'Donnell. Reassured by Patton's return to goal, they moved quickly and survived Peadar Mogan's sin binning in the ninth minute for a foul on Ryan O'Donoghue. This and a rash of wides by the winners enabled Mayo to maintain a lead in the first half but they didn't exactly make hay, and when Michael Murphy restored Donegal's lead in the 24th minute with a two-point free, it was sufficient of a foundation for them to lead by three at half-time, 0-9 to 0-6, with the wind to come. Murphy would have a significant impact, especially after getting caught by the turnover that led to Mayo's 54th-minute goal, a sweeping move that was finished by David McBrien. The sense among the 18,751 crowd at Roscommon's Dr Hyde Park was that this might be a transformative score. They had turned the match around to lead by 1-12 to 0-13. What happened next confirmed the sense that Donegal were playing within themselves. Daire Ó Baoill responded two minutes later with a two-pointer to level and Murphy popped up within a minute to score a point and then assisted Shane O'Donnell for one, which could have been a goal. Those four points left Mayo with no value or momentum from their goal. Still, they persevered. Reape led a frantic charge back to somehow prevent a 66th-minute goal after Ó Baoill and Patrick McBrearty got in behind him for a run on goal. His touch put the ball out for a 45, which Murphy kicked. Donegal's Ciaran Moore celebrates with Ciaran Thompson after the final whistle. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho Back came Mayo for their heartbreak finale. It's been a tough season and as early as they have exited the championship since 2018. For Donegal, the road stretches ahead. Prevented from topping Group 1 by losing at home to Tyrone, they will now have a home preliminary quarter-final. McGuinness was fuming about the 'neutral' round being played so close to Mayo and was unhappy at having to play again so quickly after an energetic match scattered with turnovers by both sides. 'Seven days is too short in my opinion to be honest with you for what we're asking players to do. I think there's a conversation to be had at the end of the season in terms of that. I do feel that the demands of the game are actually way, way, way beyond what they were. 'I don't think it's possible to bring that level and that level and that level. That's a conversation for another time but we would definitely be looking for the seven days. We don't believe we should have been here today either. We think it was very unfair to bring us here.' Though he was pleased to be where they are. 'It is huge. Absolutely huge. We are delighted to be there. Delighted to beat Mayo. They are a brilliant team. A physical team. They are so hard to beat, so hard to put away. We managed to do that.' DONEGAL: S Patton; F Roarty (0-0-1), B McCole, P Mogan (0-0-2); R McHugh, EB Gallagher, C Moore (0-0-2); H McFadden, M Langan; C McColgan (0-0-1), C Thompson (0-0-2, 1f), S O'Donnell (0-0-1); C O'Donnell (0-0-2), M Murphy (0-1-3, 1tpf, 1′45), O Gallen (0-0-1). Subs: J McGee for McFadden, D Ó Baoill (0-1-0) for Gallen (both 52 mins); P McBrearty for McHugh (58), E McHugh for O'Donnell (67). MAYO: C Reape; J Coyne, D McHugh (0-0-1), E Hession; S Coen, R Brickenden, P Durcan; D McBrien (1-0-0), M Ruane; C Dawson (0-0-2), J Carney (0-0-1), B Tuohy; A O'Shea, R O'Donoghue (0-0-6, 5f), D McHale (0-0-3). Subs: J Flynn (0-0-1) for Tuohy (23 mins), D Neary for McHugh (42), S Morahan for Hession (52), P Towey for Neary (56), F Boland (0-0-1) for Coen (68). Referee: P Faloon (Down).
Irish Times
5 days ago
- Sport
- Irish Times
Final-quarter surge sends Monaghan past Down into SFC last eight
All-Ireland SFC: Monaghan 2-27 Down 1-26 When the Football Review Committee make their pitch later in the year for the new rules to be retained, they will point to this game as Exhibit A. Ulster derbies had become predictable, often stifling affairs under the old rules but this was a whole heap of fun. Frantic, frenzied and full of scores, 3-53 shared between two jet-heeled, score hungry teams. That Monaghan breasted the finishing tape first was ultimately down to their superior game management in the closing 20 minutes or so. They were four points down to a game and dangerous Down side with almost 50 minutes played but drew on all their experience to turn it into a four-point win. Jack McCarron's half-time introduction was significant too, the master Scotstown forward striking the goal that ignited their final quarter insurgence and he also added a sumptuous two-pointer in a 1-3 return. READ MORE Micheál Bannigan, who scored Monaghan's opening goal earlier, along with Ryan O'Toole, Rory Beggan and David Garland, provided important scores late on too, stepping up when leadership was needed. Ryan McAnespie in action for Monaghan. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho 'We took a lot of very good options down the stretch,' said Monaghan manager Gabriel Bannigan summing up the win. Advancing now as Group 3 winners to an All-Ireland quarter-final, there is no reason why the 2023 semi-finalists can't go deep into the knockout stages again. And yet Down lost no face in defeat. The Tailteann Cup holders kicked a healthy 1-26, adding to their previous 3-27 and 0-25 tallies in the group stages. They still advance to a preliminary quarter-finals next weekend and will have home advantage in Newry. They will rue the concession of four points from two technical fouls that resulted in Beggan slotting over two two-point frees. One of those came in the 65th minute while Down also wasted two late point chances, underlining how Monaghan saw out the game that bit better. Monaghan butchered an earlier goal chance too, when Conor McCarthy was unable to convert after McCarron's ball across. Danny Magill in action for Down. Photograph: James Lawlor/Inpho It wasn't a runaway win for Monaghan, far from it, and it was Down that led by 1-15 to 1-14 after a rip-roaring first-half. John McGeough struck their goal, finishing a move that took Down speedily up the pitch with just two kick passes. Pat Havern was tracked by O'Toole but edged that duel, striking 0-12 overall, a haul that included three single points and a two-pointer from play and a two-pointer from play. A converted Havern two-point free left Down 1-20 to 1-16 up at the three quarter mark but the McCarron goal provided Monaghan with the energy to go on and win it. MONAGHAN: R Beggan (0-3-0, 3tpf); K Lavelle, K Duffy, D Byrne; R Wylie, R O'Toole (0-0-2), A Carey (0-0-1); M McCarville (0-1-0), D Ward (0-0-2); R McAnespie, S O'Hanlon (0-0-3), C McCarthy (0-1-0); A Woods (0-0-2), M Bannigan (1-0-2), S Mooney. Subs: J McCarron (1-1-1, 1f) for Mooney (ht); L Kelly (0-0-1) for Lavelle (49 mins); D Garland (0-0-1) for Woods (57); D Hughes for Duffy (59); C McNulty for McAnespie (70). DOWN: R Burns; P Fegan, P Laverty, P McCarthy; C Doherty (0-0-1), M Rooney, R Magill; O Murdock (0-0-2, 1f), J Guinness; D Magill (0-1-2), P Havern (0-3-6, 2tpf, 3f), D Guinness (0-0-2); A Crimmins (0-0-2), J McGeough (1-0-0), R McEvoy. Subs: C Mooney for J Guinness (ht); E Branagan (0-0-1) for Rooney (54 mins); C McCrickard (0-0-2, 1f) for McGeough (56); O Savage for R Magill (65); A McClements for Crimmins (67). Referee: D Coldrick (Meath).
