On durable defence
paign, Na Gaeil conceded 3-6 in three matches, an average of only 1-2 per game. Of course, the poor quality of the opposition in the Michael Cusacks and Mullinahone games has to be taken into account but, notwithstanding that, it’s a very impressive statistic. To be brutally honest, it went virtually unnoticed in the build-up to this match.
In Ennis on Saturday, however, the Na Gaeil rearguard met formidable opponents. Kilmaine had Tomas Fahy, Pat Kelly and Oisin Mullin attacking from deep, they had Cathal Murphy, Adam Barrett, Jarleth Mullin and Michael Hession probing and prompting in attack. Former Mayo senior Brian Maloney added to the fire-power at their disposal when he came off the bench.
Yet, despite an individual error at the back that led to Kilmaine’s goal just before the halfway mark of the first half, for the 96 minutes of action, the Na Gaeil defence was almost completely impregnable. As well as Hession’s three-pointer, the only other scores that the starting forwards registered for the South Mayo men were points from Murphy and Jarleth Mullin.
Kilmaine were held scoreless for 28 minutes after they went into a three-point lead (1-3 to 0-3) in the 19th minute. They only scored a single point in the 26 minutes of extra-time that were played. Those two sentences say it all about the case for the Na Gaeil defence and their manager was certainly aware that they haven’t got the credit that they deserve up to now.
“They don’t get the credit. You are right about that,” Rooney acknowledged. “But Ryan O’Neill has two All-Ireland minor medals, Fergal Barry the same, Damien Bourke was playing Kerry Under 17, you have Andrew (Barry). They are not very vaunted, but we have an exceptional set of defenders there, individually and as a group. They were exceptional today.”
Bourke, in particular, was an absolute revelation. Sticking limpet-like to any opponent that came into his domain, he read the game superbly, defended with considerable gusto, and was an indefatigable, inspirational presence for the Na Gaeil men. His future progress will certainly be watched with interest.
In the end, as Diarmuid O’Connor’s leadership and growing tendency to seize control of situations led to the match-winning scores in the extra-time period, there were two moments of defensive magic that were fundamental to the eventual outcome.
As the second half of extra-time ticked into two additional minutes, Oisin Mullin seemed certain to fire over the equalising point for Kilmaine as he pulled the trigger with his left leg. With a full length dive, the far from fully fit Jack Barry made a monumental partial block of his effort that saw the ball fail to reach its intended target.
That was followed by a massive interception from utility man Kieran O’Donovan (who must have been knackered at this stage) that prevented Kilmaine from launching one last attack.
There was a simple refusal to be beaten all over the field. Built from the back. The starting point for any winning team. Roll on Rathgarogue/Cushinstown on Saturday week.