Everybody knew what to expect, but the quality of play and standard of execution in the first half at the Gaelic Grounds was so high yesterday that it was easy to understand what all the fuss had been about beforehand. There were times when that quality and ability to create space in congested areas was reminiscent of elite soccer.
It was effectively man-on-man but both teams were still largely trying to play with a zonal marking system, where most of the damage was being done in the half-spaces between the channels. Philip Mahony wasn’t playing in his usual sitting role and the way in which he was being dragged around the place by the slickness of Na Piarsaigh’s fluent passing was enabling the Limerick side to rip open that space that Ballygunner are usually so adept at shutting down .
Na Piarsaigh only turned over the ball 10 times in the first half. Their conversion rate was an impressive 81% compared to Ballygunner’s 62%. Yet Na Piarsaigh were playing out of their skin and the biggest question centered around whether they could sustain that standard if the Gunners came out with all guns blazing in the second half, which they did.
Ballygunner applied such heat in the tackle that Na Piarsaigh turned over the ball 17 times after the break while Ballygunner continued to enjoy huge dominance on their own puckout. Ballygunner’s possession stakes went through the roof, which was reflected in their far greater number of shots in the second half, 19-11.
Crucially, Ballygunner began to find those pockets of space easier, while Na Piarsaigh could not get the same level of execution in their passing game. And crucially, those numbers were also reflected in the second half conversion rates, with Na Piarsaigh’s dropping to only 36% in that second half.
In the lead-up to the Kilmacud Crokes-Portarlington Leinster semi-final on Saturday night, last year’s tight match at the same stage formed a core part of the narrative. A dominant theme was that if Portarlington could improve by a handful of percent, they appeared to have the ability and scoring power to take down Kilmacud.
The bottom line this time around though, was that Kilmacud significantly raised their game to blow all external theories to smithereens. On the other hand, was too much read into last year’s game? Kilmacud did have a lot of chances in that match but they only scored 1-11 from 37 shots. On Saturday though, Kilmacud scored 1-12 from 24 shots. Polished. Much more polished.
Kilmacud also looked like a team which had done their homework on the Laois champions to ensure they wouldn’t be troubled by the same headaches. Kilmacud got bodies back into the central attacking channel to block off that diagonal ball outlet. Crokes feasted on turnovers early on but Port were playing into their hands by not moving the ball wide. The Laois side couldn’t find any gaps around the D to get their running game going but Crokes always controlled the pace and tempo of the match and they just sucked the life out of Portarlington from the opening minutes.
Kilmacud were still so dominant with nearly 20 minutes to play – they had enjoyed nearly 70% possession up to then – that they could afford to haul off Shane Walsh at that stage. By the end of the match, Crokes had doubled the amount of shots (24-12) but their conversion rate after the break was an impressive 78%.
Kilmacud have now only lost one game from their last 19 matches, but that harrowing All-Ireland final defeat to Kilcoo after extra-time in February is clearly providing the rocket fuel in their tank to try and ensure that Crokes go the full distance this time. around.
At the final whistle of the Clare county final four weeks ago, Tony Kelly sprinted towards the North stand, jumped up on the advertising hoarding, shook his fist to the huge crowd before belting the wire with his hurley and then bounding back onto the pitch to join in on the celebrations.
Kelly’s reaction smacked of letting everyone know that you write off Ballyea at your peril. Their performance against Éire Óg was vintage Ballyea. Trailing by three points in the 59th minute, Ballyea landed the last four points to hunt down Éire Óg.
Ballyea don’t panic. They feel that if they are within three points of any opposition once the clock heads towards 60 minutes, Ballyea believe they will win. And they showed as much again yesterday in Ennis, especially Kelly.
St Finbarr’s had done a good job in containing him when Kelly shot three wides from his first nine plays, but then he shot two points from his next three plays. Kelly ended with four wides but those two brilliant points were decisive, as was his placed ball striking, which he took over from Niall Deasy.
Ballyea will go into the final against Ballygunner as underdogs but they – and especially Kelly – will just relish that challenge.
In the opening Leinster football semi-final in Croke Park on Saturday evening, The Downs and Ratoath were level six times in the opening 26 minutes before The Downs benefited from a turnover off a couple of spillages in front of goals in the wet conditions and Ciaran Nolan slotted the ball to the net.
The Downs got 1-4 from turnovers in that opening half and their second goal in the 42nd minute from Niall Mitchell was also sourced from a turnover. After going 17 minutes of the half without a score, Ratoath finished the game in a blaze and had a chance to take the match to extra-time with the last kick but Jack Flynn’s free from a difficult angle drifted just wide.
Those two goals were decisive but The Downs still had a better conversion rate, 70% to Ratoath’s 60%. They also had the most effective player on the pitch in Luke Loughlin, who scored 0-3 from play while he smeared his hands all over another 0-5.
The last time The Downs reached this stage, they also met a Dublin team in the final but St Vincent’s beat them well in the decider in Navan. They’ll be outsiders again in two weeks, but The Downs will be intent on having a right go.
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