Taking on a man, creating an imbalance, opening the whole thing up.
In the build-up to the Kerry and Cork Munster final, the analysis showed how the Kingdom’s backline could be got at and how, if anyone was going to do it, Cork would be that team.
“We used to preach at underage football for forwards to take on their men,” the preview read. “In a 6 v 6 scenario, all it took was for one defender to be beaten and the whole thing would open up before you. Suddenly you have 6 v 5 – a man over.
“All it takes is for one man to go at his marker.
“It comes with confidence though. It comes with attackers actually willing to risk losing possession so they can get past a tackler. But it also comes with a traditional man-on-man back line. And that’s what Cork could have against Kerry on Sunday.”
The thrilling provincial decider in Killarney was something for the ages.
Cork were all but written off in certain quarters, they had their character questioned and they had their running power completely underrated.
Mostly by Kerry.
If the Rebels are feeling a tinch like they’ve missed the boat having left behind a game they did everything but win, it’s probably because they know that Kerry won’t treat them with such apathy the next day out.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice must be tossing and turning thinking of the three goals his side leaked but he will also be worried about how he can actually fix the problem.
GOAL NUMBER ONE
All three of Cork’s goal originated from inside of their own 13′.
For Colm O’Neill’s palmed effort early in the game, Kerry initially had the Rebels stopped right up in their own defence. And yet they still couldn’t get set up.
They still couldn’t even get one extra body back to help out poor Marc Ó Sé stranded with acres of space in front of him.
So, when Cork looked up, they saw green. And they planted ball into what must’ve looked like a horizon.
The space left in the Kerry backline was criminal.
One long kick pass – a wayward enough one – and Mark Collins has the freedom of Fitzgerald Stadium to chase it in behind with no-one to worry about closing him down.
Then, he runs to the byline. He turns. He weighs up his options. If Collins even thinks about doing this against the like of a Donegal, he is nailed. He’s hounded, because the entire rearguard are on red alert and rightly so, there’s an intruder behind their lines. Kerry might as well have opened the gate for him and given him a uniform.
And what does Collins have further inside as the ball is popped casually over Peter Crowley’s head? Space. More space. And, incredulously, he actually has a man over – Cork have an extra man – inside the Kerry 13′.
It’s a simple two-on-one, it’s a simple goal.
An attack that took 38 seconds in all – one that initially looked stopped right at the source – exploded into life just because Cork showed the green and gold jerseys no respect. They weren’t for backing down. They were going to go right at them. And Kerry showed them a lot of grass as well.
GOAL NUMBER TWO
The second goal?
It summed up perfectly how Kerry’s naivety played into Cork’s biggest strength, their running power.
It starts from a kickout, it’s won in midfield, it’s kicked forward, and then the Cork attack just goes to town.
It was almost like they were insulted that Kerry would be so lax at the back that they punished the opposition’s carelessness mercilessly.
From a kickout – a bloody dead ball at the other side of the field, a complete stop and reset in play – Kerry are still somehow hung out to dry.
On the Kerry 45 metre line, there’s already a man over. There’s a 4 v 3 situation developing because Cork are running at them. Cork are not fearing them and Kerry – well, God knows what they were doing.
Cork drive the defenders back, the ball gets popped over the top for an-off-the-ball runner and he isn’t picked up properly. The rest is just genius Donncha O’Connor magic as he instinctively fists the ball over the ‘keeper’s head but it’s derived from sheer running power and a complete lack of strategy designed to stop it.
Tipperary showed the way with their two goals in the Munster semi final.
All it took was a decision to take on your man and the whole thing opened up.
It also took a helping hand from some of the Kerry players though who helped to no end to create these imbalances.
Go back to Donegal. You win a kick pass just inside the 65′ against Donegal and you have to worm your way back out to find space. You can’t even think about your next move because you’re just looking for air – it’s the same with Dublin this year.
Cork were winning ball – man against man – turning and looking up into even more space inside.
Kerry have three men half-heartedly making their way back (coming into picture on the left) so they were obviously told to do something when, with a bit of discipline, they would’ve tightened the whole show. The first pass probably wouldn’t have been on and the second pass would’ve been back to where it came from because of the pressure.
Instead they’re ball-watching as Cork take their time to assess their options and get more runners forward. This attack led to David Moran’s black card.
1. The same thing is happening again, allowing the player time to win ball, turn and look up – and giving him space if he wants to run.
2. The Cork player to his left is about to be 10 metres away from him in one second.
3. Is he supposed to be sweeping? Is he supposed to be watching Colm O’Neill in the full back line? This position is offering nothing to anyone.
4. He’s just wasting his energy.
5. Who the hell is picking up this guy?
And Cork sensed blood, time and time again.
This is the follow on from the picture above that shows frightening holes in Kerry’s defence.
Barry O’Driscoll gets the ball on the 45′, all he has to do is drop the shoulder on one man – one man – and he has endless grass to run into and flick over the easiest of scores.
GOAL NUMBER THREE
That’s where it’s most concerning for Fitzmaurice. When they did try to shut up shop and keep it tight at the back, their blanket was more like a newspaper wrapping just begging to be ripped apart.
68 seconds. 13 passes. James O’Donoghue, Colm Cooper back, the hatches well and truly battened down. And Cork waltz right through them.
Kerry had them stopped thrice on this occasion, at least. They got their blanket defence set up – they were two points ahead with seven minutes to go, it was a matter of playing tight and hitting Cork on the break.
And yet.
And yet.
Cork tried to penetrate and they were forced back, the way it should be.
The fans groaned, Michael Shields picks the ball up from a complete recycle a good 60 metres from the posts and he even has a man coming to meet him. Perfect, says every Kerry native in sight.
But Michael Shields sets up Cork’s third goal. From there.
Again, he just runs. No fear, no real pressure and he exposes Kerry.
He makes it to the ‘D’ relatively unchallenged and, even still, Kerry are kind of set up.
They have two men about to hit Shields, Barry O’Driscoll is being picked up inside – there’s still a spare Cork man in there somehow – but this shouldn’t be disastrous.
It is.
Shields breaks a wafer thin wall, pops the ball off to a forward who’ll do the rest, Kerry have five men chasing doing nothing.
And that’s with their blanket. That’s again from a kickout, from a 68 second, laboured attack that involved no kick pass forward apart from the ‘keeper’s.
Cork might worry that Kerry won’t be so inviting the next day out but they’ll prepare for July 18 the same way they must’ve done here: with no fear.
Eamonn Fitzmaurice, on the other hand, will take his side back to the drawing board and back to the well to show them what it is to dig again. Because they no doubt have one of the two best squads in Ireland. But they cannot be allowing men to just run past them and hit their net like it isn’t a direct assault to everything they stand for.
They need to be more ruthless.
And they can’t, for a start, let Cork do it to them again because they got off the hook on Sunday with two gifted goals at the other end. They got out of jail in this one.
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