Second All-Ireland title for the men from the West
Corofin proved much too strong for a Slaughtneil side who looked caught up in the occasion in today’s AIB GAA All-Ireland club final, a game that ended with a victory for the Connacht, 1-14 to 0-7. The Galway side conceded the opening score of the game to the returning Chrstopher Bradley after just 90 seconds but once they got their noses in front after eight minutes they never looked back. They led at the break by 1-8 to 0-3 with the game-breaking goal from captain Martin Farragher after a lovely pop-pass from Gary Sice.
Just as we had seen in the All-Ireland semi final against St Vincent’s, Corofin’s gameplan and incredible work ethic as well as support play was too hot to handle for the Derry outfit, who lacked the intensity of their opponents on the day. We’ve taken a look at some of the key reasons for their win.
No Answer to Michael Lundy
Corofin’s full forward was simply unmarkable for the hour. Slaughtneil’s full back Brendan Rodgers proved his worth when he eventually got to grips with Kieran Donaghy in their semi final but today Lundy was in unstoppable form. The 25-year-old’s movement and ball control was the ideal outlet for the Galway side every time that they broke up a Slaughtneil attack. High or low he can take ball and perhaps if he hadn’t been fouled after 37 minutes he could have set up a second goal for the winners. He landed three points in the first half and his overall play was deserving of the man of the match award.
He was ably assisted by the ageless Gary Sice while Ian Burke and Martin Farragher were also lively as they stretched the Slaugthneil defense in the wide open spaces of Croke Park. Lundy knitted all of the Corofin attack together and if he can stay fit he will be potent weapon for Galway’s senior side this season.
Slaughneil’s tactics
For the entire first half the Ulster champions full forward Paul Bradley was stationed inside the Corofin square. Traditionalists would love it but today Corofin used the lack of pressure on their defense as a base for building attack after attack.
There was often 50 metres between Bradley and another Slaughtneil teammate which put him under huge pressure when his side did attack to hold up the ball and wait for re-enforcements. The ploy worked a few times for the Derry side but by not pushing up they allowed Corofin to build attacks from deep and once crossing the half-way line they picked out passes at ease. Bradley was moved out in the second half to try and get on more ball but there was simply no way through the Corofin massed defense as they funneled players back. Slaughtenil were just too slow in their counter-attack and Corofin exploited it.
Possession wins games
Corofin dominated the ball. If they didn’t win it at midfield then they claimed it in turn overs or in their very effective tackling. Daithi Burke and Ronan Steede claimed a huge amount of ball and with Gary Sice also linking play well Slaughtenil just could not build any attacks. Corofin’s discipline in defense was impressive and even though they did cough up a late penalty, the Galway side were cruising at that stage.
Every attack that was broken up by Corofin sapped a little bit more confidence, and crucially energy, from the Ulster side and the late miss from the penalty spot by Cormac O’Doherty summed up their day – missed chances and misfiring attacks.
