How Sarsfields found the glitches in Ballygunner’s system
Side's Shane O'regan Crombie Sarsfields’ His Scores Goal Second Ballygunner Against Picture: ©inpho/james
In his pre-match interview with TG4, Sarsfields manager Johnny Crowley was adamant that they had their homework done. Everyone knows what Ballygunner do. They bare their strengths. Sarsfields would make it a weakness.
“They are a very systematic team; they are very well balanced,” he said.
“They are very rigid in what they do in the sense that they stick to their process, stick to their system. They are really, really good at that. I suppose it is up to us to break that down. We feel we have done a lot of video analysis and we feel there might be one or two little glitches in that system that maybe we can get at today. Hopefully we can.”
He went on to point to the influence of goalkeeper Stephen O'Keeffe. The former Waterford number one had amassed 33 possessions in his last three games from general play. This was a pattern. O’Keeffe was the central processing unit in a machine that was unbeaten in Munster since 2019. Crashing the mainframe started there.
O’Keeffe’s raw numbers were awesome on Sunday. 66% retention, 2-10 scored from his puckout. Sarsfields set out to press his restarts everywhere except their half-back line. In that sphere, both wing-backs marked from the outside and tried to track the runner breaking to either sideline.
Ballygunner built an empire based on pace and precision. Dessie Hutchinson’s goal was a typical example of how they hurt the opposition. O’Keeffe long, Patrick Fitzgerald on the break, time to pick out a pass to Hutchinson at the back post. 12 seconds to go from one goal to the other. By pushing up, Sarsfields knew they risked being cut open when it clicked. They were willing to lose that battle to win the war.
The risk is being open at one end, the reward is what comes at the other. The beaten Cork finalists mined a remarkable 2-11 from turnovers compared to Ballygunner’s 0-6. There is always more danger with a high turnover given that it comes closer to the opposition’s goal. Sarsfields turned Ballygunner over 12 times outside of their own 65. Ballygunner’s comparable return was three.
Midway through the opening half, Stephen O’Keeffe raced up the sideline as an option for a free and Cathal McCarthy immediately marked him. Any time Sarsfields lost the ball deep in Ballgunner’s half, Aaron Myers or Jack O’Connor stayed deep to mark the goalkeeper. They went to force Ballygunner to go direct and disrupt their ability to build a platform.
While O’Keeffe continued to pick his pockets and frequently hit the wings, Ben Graham was content to go long down Ballygunner’s throat. Even when he went short, it was a ploy to get it back and drive down that centre channel. Winning ball close to the opposition’s goal has an obvious advantage. Sarsfields turned 14 puckouts won into 10 shots for 1-4.
Shane O’Regan’s second goal came from after the puckout signal Graham deployed on numerous times in the game. He lifted his hurley high and their front six got set. As the puckout went towards the top of the opposition D, Sarsfields made sure to have perfect break structure with a man under the ball and support runners coming from each side to fight for the break.
Minute 24: Harry Ruddle turns around and goes back to O’Keeffe. He miscontrols the pass and Cian Darcy dunts him over the endline. Minute 41: Barry Coughlan turns around and goes back to O’Keeffe. Colm McCarthy presses him and the pass is wayward, dropping at Bryan Murphy’s feet. He fires over a sensational long-range score.
This remarkable achievement demanded enormous work-rate and endless aggression and a small bit of leeway. Referee Johnny Murphy spoke to two Sarsfields defenders in the opening two minutes and soon after booked Eoghan Murphy for an off-the-ball clash with Mikey Mahony. The archive of great sporting triumphs is littered with examples of getting some required breaks. Sarsfields worked a score from a sideline after the sliotar appeared to bounce off Myers foot first, the outstanding O’Regan was not penalised for a glaring overcarry, Ballygunner’s one high turnover could easily have ended in a goal when Fitzgerald rifled a shot off the woodwork.
It had to be a collective effort in order to sustain the level of combativeness required. O’Regan deservedly received the post-game plaudits but around him the work of selfless forwards paved the way. James Sweeney did not score from play. Cathal McCarthy hit one point. Together they assisted 1-6. Jack O’Connor hit 1-2 from six shots and assisted another 0-2.
Post-match Crowley stood in front of that screen to reflect on a job well done, a win that stemmed from their system and their soul.
“I just thought to a man we were absolutely incredible. Our work-rate, our tenacity, our heart, our desire, our structure. We went route one more so than we have gone in a lot of games. It probably caused them a lot of trouble. It is just great.”