Corofin flatten their rivals again
All-Ireland kingpins hit magnificent seven in Galway opener and extend unbeaten run to 36 SFC games
COROFIN in full flow are the most beautiful thing in Irish sport. They’ve seldom looked better than they did when trouncing Oughterard by 27 points at Pearse Stadium yesterday. Covid-19 may have delayed the season, upset training schedules and forced the cancellation of provincial and All-Ireland club championships but Corofin keep rolling merrily along. A move, a moment, a player and a stat illustrated what makes Galway’s champions the greatest club team in GAA history.
The move, in the 51st minute, was distilled essence of purest Corofin. It began with them taking a free 20 yards from their own posts and finished ten passes and 35 seconds later with Dylan Wall setting up Jason Leonard for goal number four.
The moment was the one which Leonard took to compose himself before slotting the ball into the roof of the net. There was something very Corofin about that combination of sangfroid and precision in front of goal.
The player was Darragh Silke who four minutes later made it six with a thunderous sweep of the boot to cap an imperious performance at centre half-forward. Silke’s 1-7 also included a couple of splendid long-range points and he looked every inch a player who can add to Pádraic Joyce’s options at inter-county level.
But here’s the rub. Silke, who starred for Joyce on last year’s Galway under 20 team, couldn’t even make the first 15 when Corofin won their third All-Ireland final on the trot in January. In many clubs he’d be a star, in Corofin he’s fighting for his place.
The stat? Corofin’s seven goals were shared by seven players with 11 getting on the scoresheet. They’re not short of talented individuals but this team has always been much greater than the sum of its parts. It is that unerring emphasis on the collective which more than anything else has turned Corofin into the special ones.
It’s remarkable how easily Silke and other youngsters slot into the Corofin side when the team’s style makes considerable demands even on experienced players. The angles of running are a little more subtle than those employed by their rivals, the passes that bit crisper and the movement more constant. The commitment to Total Football means everyone is expected to be not just comfortable on the ball but creativewithit.
Yet C or of in make it all look so simple you’d imagine anyone could play like this. The passer looks up and invariably discovers a free man, the solo runner finds someone on his shoulder, the player who’s made space for himself knows he’ll be picked out.
You could argue that Oughterard were undemanding opponents. Yet only a few months ago they beat Templenoe, who included four members of the Kerry All-Ireland senior final team, in the All-Ireland intermediate decider.
Sides wearing that crown generally go well at senior level. Witness reigning intermediate hurling champions Tullaroan’s thrilling draw with senior title holders Ballyhale Shamrocks on Friday night. Oughterard simply learned, like
Nemo Rangers, Dr Crokes and many others, that when Corofin are on top form you do what you can but they do as they wish.
Last season the pressure of chasing a record-breaking All-Ireland hat-trick sometimes seemed to tell on Corofin. They were untypically inhibited in the final against Kilcoo before rediscovering their best selves in extra-time.
Now that the record has been achieved, they’re likely to play with more freedom from now on. That’s good news because, while Corofin are well able to battle, what defines them is an obvious belief that Gaelic football can also be The Beautiful Game. Time and again their skill, pace and use of space prove that faith correct.
We give poor old Gaelic football a tough time. OK, it might not be as good as hurling. But what is? At its best our native brand of football is not intrinsically less exciting or aesthetically pleasing than its international counterparts.
Every performance makes a stirring argument in favour of Gaelic football’s potential. They don’t just play the game, they honour it. Theirs is a brand of football with a smile on its face, adventure in its soul and pride in its heart.
Hunger
Yesterday’s tour de force suggested that making history has not lessened Corofin’s hunger and also that this season’s strange nature hasn’t narrowed the gap between them and their rivals. These are worrying harbingers for anyone hoping a combination of Dublin satisfaction and Covid disruption might level the inter-county playing field.
After all, Corofin are the club Dubs. Their achievement may be the more remarkable, stemming as it does from a village whose population was 627 during the last census. At the start of the nineties Corofin had just three Galway senior titles to their name. Now it’s 21 along with ten Connachts and five All-Irelands.
The post-match comments of Silke – “It’s the same style of football all the way through. It’s about the basic skills, it’s not all about winning at underage. It’s about building players and people” – and manager Kevin O’Brien – “It’s important that lads have the freedom to go and express themselves, whether that be a corner-back or a corner forward” – sum up what makes Corofin so refreshingly different. This team is good for the soul.
Corofin are truth and Corofin are beauty. That is all we know and all we need to know.
Every Corofin performance makes a stirring argument in favour of Gaelic football’s potential