Galway vs Mayo
13:30 Here we go! Day two of the first bumper weekend of championship 2011 begins. Joining us on the couch today is a tub of Snickers ice cream and various leftovers from last night’s pizza eating marathon.
Our analysts are Pat Spillane who is on the double shift this weekend, and Colm O’Rourke, who is worried about looking uglier in HD. Not at all Colm.
Unfortunately, before today’s main event we have a match that no-one cares about in a land that time forgot, Galway vs Mayo in the Connaught championship.
13:51 There is a Sky Sports style interview with Galway manager Tomás Ó Flahairte sitting uncomfortably close to the camera, piano tinkling in the background, as he lays his soul bare to a faceless reporter whose questions are edited out. Classic filler.
Mayo manager James Nallon’s interview is a much less formal affair and appears to be taking place outside the Mayo dressing room. Nallon answers like he’s in an awful hurry to go in and give the pre-match teamtalk.
13:52 Our commentary team is introduced, Ger Canning (GC) and Connaught football expert/sadist, Martin Carney (MC).
GC runs through the teams and as usual tells us how many championship matches various players have played. Only slightly less predictable than a programmable robot.
13:56 Spillane gives a hesitant vote to Mayo, Colm goes for Galway.
13:57 An appalling sean-nós style rendition of the National Anthem passes without comment from GC, but it takes forever to finish and hasn’t exactly fired up the crowd.
13:59 GC fills us in on the strength of the wind in a concerned tone, as if at any moment a player might be swept up by a gust and disappear forever.
14:00 Game on!
GC: ‘It’s a wet day here in Connaught and Mayo are playing into the rain in the first half’.
14:02 Mayo full forward Alan Freeman doesn’t seem to bend at the waist and makes an awful hash of trying to pick up a low ball. He eventually trips over himself and sort of boots it out over the line.
Maybe he was right not to bend over as MC informs us that the ball is like a bar of soap.
14:03 MC on a roll now: ‘The one thing we weren’t expecting today was rain’.
14:07 The commentary team is running out of complimentary adjectives for Padraig Joyce as he kicks his second bad wide. They eventually settle on wily and canny.
14:15 This is an awful, awful game. Alan Freeman again fails to pick the ball up. I assume he has played football before.
Galway 0-2
Mayo 0-1
14:23 Mayo’s top scorer is now their goalkeeper, and he is by no means an accurate freetaker.
Mayo’s midfielder Aidan O’Shea might be the most overhyped young player in the country. His handling and kicking have been very poor thus far.
14:32 Goal for Galway! Conroy finishes to the net after a long ball from midfield catches out the Mayo full back line. With the wind, the long ball is the way to go.
Galway 1-05
Mayo 0-4
Galway have played for about 5 minutes and lead by 4 points.
14:36 Mark Hehir takes a punch in the side of the head from Keith Higgins, Linesman has seen it, has to be a red card…
Yellow. Cop out by the referee.
Half time: Galway 1-05
Mayo 0-4
14:50 Can’t wait for this game to be over.
14:53 18 seconds into the 2nd half and Mayo register their 10th wide of the game.
14:56 The poor standard of place kicking today leads GC to ponder:
‘Can you coach a player to take 45s, or is it something they’re born with?’
MC, I assume, is too amazed to answer.
15:02 Scores level, Mayo have stepped up the intensity and are winning everything at midfield.
MC: ‘The handbrake is off now’.
15:15 Goal for cumbersome Mayo full forward Alan Freeman. He finishes it well and Mayo now lead by 3.
Galway 1-09
Mayo 1-06
15:21 Nearly over now thank God. Galway are awful.
Ronan McGarrity kicks an outlandish point and waves to the crowd like he’s won an All-Ireland.
15:25 Another wide for the ever-classy Padraig Joyce.
15:30 Full time Galway 1-06
Mayo 1-12
I’m going to lay it all on the line here and say that neither of these teams will win the All-Ireland in 2011.
Dublin vs Kildare
Right, the main event. An intriguing game in prospect for us here- Can Kildare continue to create 40 scoring chances and miss half of them?
Can Bernard Brogan’s supporting cast help him out?
Has Eoghan O’Gara practiced soloing and kicking the ball in the last 9 months?
All will be revealed.
15:48 Spillane gets his weekly dig at Cork out of the way early by saying they had it handy in the qualifiers last year. He then gets a bit muddled up in complicated thoughts and finishes by declaring that it’s down to the luck of the draw.
15:55 Our commentary team for this one is Marty Morrissey and Kevin McStay.
16:02 Cracking atmosphere in Croke Park, the crowd is 58,000 as the ball is thrown in.
O’Gara is fouled and Brogan converts.
16:06 Dublin are looking very impressive defensively, the full back line especially look assured and confident.
I would worry about Diarmuid Connolly’s mental strength however, he does crazy things at times despite his obvious talent.
16:14 Fantastic score by Eoin Flaherty created at the other end by solid defending by Mick Foley on Connolly.
Kildare 0-2
Dublin 0-2
16:16 John Doyle may be an oddly shaped man but he’s a great footballer.
16:18 The accuracy of Cluxton’s kickouts are amazing, an example to every other keeper in the country.
16:23 Fine point by Alan Brogan taking a pass from Bernard. AB is getting far too much time and space on the ball and is punishing Kildare.
16:24 Goal for Dublin! The otherwise excellent Kildare full back line go walkabout and Paul Flynn wins the footrace to slot the ball home.
At the other end, Rory O’Carroll is having a storming game at full back.
16:25 Nobody shoots under pressure better than Bernard Brogan. Brilliant score.
Kildare 0-3
Dublin 1-5
Marty is positively gushing in his praise of Cluxton’s hands after he makes a routine catch at the edge of the small square.
16:31 McLoughlin is on for Kildare to pick up Alan Brogan. A change was needed.
16:36 I doubt Eoghan O’Gara will be on much longer. There is no discernable improvement in his decision making. Connolly struggling too. Brogan ploughing a lone furrow in the full forward line as usual.
The Kildare full back line has been excellent apart from the Dublin goal.
16:38 I have been wondering for a while how long it would be before BB began getting the Gooch treatment from referees. Well, it appears to have started as his marker picks up a yellow card seemingly for contesting a 50-50 ball. In my book not even a free.
(The Gooch treatment works thusly: the ref pays an inordinate amount of attention to what is going on between the star player and his marker. Every minor indiscretion, both on and off the ball, is punished by awarding frees to the star. The marker then picks up an early booking and is in trouble for the rest of the game.
The Gooch treatment was taken to new levels in 2009, when Cooper realised that any coming-together off the ball would result in a free to Kerry, and started throwing himself around like an epileptic ragdoll.)
Half time Kildare 0-4
Dublin 1-7
The game looks to be ideally set up for the second half. Serial bottlers Dublin have a healthy lead to squander and Kildare have plenty of ground to make up through their customary Lazarus act.
Kildare will need to attack Dublin down the middle to have any joy in the second half, all through the first half they have been too peripheral..
Spillane’s half time analysis is based on patting himself on the back for his pre-match predictions.
Colm goes on a tirade about the standard of refereeing and soft frees/bookings.
I agree mostly, but do think that players have to be punished for persistent fouling.
Maybe after committing 4 fouls a yellow card should automatically be issued.
Persistent fouling needs to be clearly defined – anything needlessly left to the discretion of the referee is going to cause trouble.
16:56 2nd half begins.
17:01 Suicidal from O’Gara. Already on a yellow, he clotheslines the man in possession to the ground. Red card. Gilroy should really have subbed him at half time.
Is this the start of the Dublin collapse?!
17:03 Brilliant score from O’Flaherty. He rode two heavy tackles and kicked a lovely score.
Kildare 0-6
Dublin 1-7
17:04 End to end stuff – Alan Brogan’s goalbound effort is scrambled clear and O’Callaghan scores from the resultant attack. That’s a killer for any team.
Kildare 0-7
Dublin 1-7
17:06 O’Callaghan is hitting his stride now, a neat pass to Rob Kelly for another point.
17:07 Marty Morrissey interprets everything incorrectly given the option. This time he accuses Ronan Sweeney of throwing a punch when the slow motion replay clearly shows him shoving his man.
17:09 The signs of strain are showing on the Dublin players. Alan Brogan’s play is becoming a little headless.
17:11 For some reason John Doyle is now playing as a sweeper in front of BB.
Marty lauds this as a stroke of tactical genius by McGeeney. I disagree somewhat.
17:14 Another Gooch free for Brogan. Very very soft.
17:15 Fine score by Emmet Bolton coming up from wing back. One of the players of the championship so far.
Kildare 0-10
Dublin 1-9
Diarmuid Connolly off, Kevin McMenamin on.
Both teams wasteful in the last few minutes.
17:29 Dublin’s blanket defence is allowing nothing through. No way back now for Kildare.
Kildare 0-10
Dublin 1-11
17:31 Hang on a second! A cracking goal by O’Callaghan brings Kildare right back into it. He sidestepped two men and absolutely belted it into the bottom corner from fully 20 metres out. I make it about 4 minutes left. Game on!
Kildare 1-10
Dublin 1-11
17:33 This is amazing stuff. Kildare win the kickout and a long hopeful ball finds its way to O’Callaghan again. He dummies and kicks over on his left and the game is level.
17:34 Ah referee! The Gooch treatment continues for BB. The referee’s eagle eyes spot something off the ball and Dublin have a free in 30 yards from goal. Unbelievably harsh.
Brogan slots it and the game is over. Poor Kildare, they really deserved a draw.
Final Score
Kildare 1-12
Dublin 1-11
What have we learnt from today’s game?
- Dublin still have no help for Bernard Brogan in the full forward line
- Centre forward might suit Alan Brogan but it remains to be seen if he will ever get so much time and space again.
- Dublin’s full back line looks formidable – their discipline in the tackle is much improved.
- Kildare need to find a position for John Doyle where he can get himself on the scoreboard. Centre forward? Today they dropped 7 shots short into Cluxton’s chest and kicked 10 wides. Doyle is deadly accurate but is not getting any scoring opportunities.
- Kildare might think about showing up for the first half from now on, they couldn’t quite manage to dig themselves out of the hole today.
No comments:
Post a Comment