A wily old fox.
Andy Moran has seen it all. The Ballaghaderreen stalwart is now in his thirteenth season in the green and red of Mayo, and the remarkable thing is that as a 33-year-old, he continues to improve with each passing one.
Moran never had searing pace, even when he burst onto the scene as a twenty-year-old, but what he does have is one of the cleverest football brains in the GAA, and this keeps him constantly relevant.
What he doesn’t have in pace, he more than makes up for in his varied off-the-ball movements, and in his flexibility, which surely derives from the emphasis he puts on stretching and movement mechanics in his gym-routine.
The Mayo set up a gym without any machines, that had a motto of ‘Movement changes everything.’ It’s no wonder that he can change movement direction in an instant.
He is a clinical opportunist, he is decisive, and with more than 150 Mayo appearances behind him, he puts all of this experience to good use.
Moran is a willing runner, but he only makes these runs when he sees good reason to, when his teammates can pick him out, and when his markers are blinking.
He has mastered the corner forward role, with his explosive movements, and his deep positioning. Andy hogs the inside line, he won’t stray too far, and this is a huge help to his half forwards, who don’t have a teammate and his marker up their arse the whole time, and crucially gives them space to run into if they win a ball.
His early goal showcased all of this shrewdness when he allowed his two Mayo teammates contest a looping Diarmuid O’Connor pass with the Kerry defenders, and stood off, waiting for the breaking ball, before he pounced like the tiger he is.
On top of all of these cunning tactics, the artful dodger knows how to manage a wet day too.
For his second point of the game, he was again prowling around the thirteen yard line when Kevin McLoughlin had ball in hand and was ready to hit a free from about 45 yards out.
Andy made an explosive run from deep, gets out in front of his marker Shane Enright, as he did all day, and as the ball bounced awkwardly low in front of him, he makes use of the greasy, wet ground by sliding along it to collect the ball.
This is one of the most difficult balls a player can get, and many mess it up as they bend over awkwardly in an attempt to gather it.
The slippy underfoot conditions makes it even harder.
Moran uses this to his advantage. He gets out in front of his man, and allows his momentum to slide him across the ground and gather it, while maintaining his momentum.
Up he got to score his second point of the game.
He was at it again in the second half, this time from a Paddy Durcan pass, before he won a free.
There was no fumbling of the ball, he met it and collected it in his chest.
The man is a genie.
