Christy O'Connor: Elite football forwards no longer dominate ...
When Tyrone played Monaghan in the league in Omagh in March, Darragh Canavan scored a goal for Tyrone which, in terms of place and distance covered in such a short space of time, was one of the most unique goals scored in years – if ever.
From the moment Niall Morgan booted the ball from inside his own 13-metre line until Canavan’s shot hit Monaghan net, just 11.8 seconds had elapsed.
Genius and sublime technique was wrapped up in every second of the phase of play. Morgan’s 54-metre missile with the outside of his right boot took out 12 Monaghan players. Canavan was still 67 metres from goal when he secured possession. He had Micheál Bannigan, one of Monaghan’s fastest players, on his tail, and on a pitch that resembled a paddy field.
As he got closer to goal, Canavan initially veered towards Bannigan before stepping away to his left to create that extra yard of space. The only poor decision Canavan made was bouncing the ball 18 metres from goal with Bannigan on his right shoulder. The saturated surface contaminated the bounce and prevented Canavan from securing possession, but he compensated by toe-poking the ball with venom past the goalkeeper.
Canavan lit up a dark and dank night like a firecracker, scoring 1-4 from play. Three weeks earlier, against Mayo, Canavan had arguably delivered an even better performance, which was illuminated by another outstanding goal.
Canavan ended the league with 2-16 from play, just two points behind Division 1's top scorer from play, Shane McGuigan.
The 2023 championship provided the first real evidence that Canavan was the main challenger to McGuigan as Ulster's best forward. He proved how close he was getting to McGuigan during the league, with Canavan having a 75% conversion rate from play compared to McGuigan’s 66%.
ELITE
Accuracy defines the top players and Canavan now has that in his game. He has established himself in that elite bracket of inter-county forwards now but the 2024 league saw the evolution, growth and expansion of that list, with Canavan leading a posse of players behind the elite bracket of David Clifford, McGuigan, Con O’Callaghan, Shane Walsh and Seán O’Shea.
It’s not that long ago that Clifford was out on his own by a significant distance. Clifford is one of the game’s greatest players but he was even more of a rare breed in his first four seasons because most counties were more focused back then on collective cohesion than individual brilliance.
Teams were becoming far more technically and tactically advanced but that also limited the same scope for individual forward brilliance and creativity. There was – and always will be - room for the forward with a spark of genius, but that attacking flame was becoming much harder to fan in such a claustrophobic and defensive environment.
Half-backs were nearly as valued as forwards from a scoring perspective. Coaches and managers were looking for forwards they could trust more than the maverick who could nail the 30-70 shot.
Yet forwards' individual movement improved because it had to, in such a condensed space. Forwards were playing in more conventional positions. Gengenpressing led to more scoring opportunities higher up the field.
Football’s more gung-ho approach fostered, promoted and expanded the game’s roster of exciting forward talent but this year’s championship was another reminder of how difficult the modern game can be for forwards to prosper like they want to.
Some of that was down to form and circumstance, but some of the top forwards did not have the season expected off them. O’Callaghan was the top scorer from play in the championship, while Clifford was joint-eighth, but McGuigan, O’Shea, Walsh and Canavan did not make that list. Walsh and Canavan were just outside it, coming in just two points behind Clifford.
NO LONGER ESSENTIAL
Ryan O’Donoghue was the championship’s overall top scorer, while he was the joint-third highest scorer from play. O’Donoghue is an excellent player deserving to be in that top bracket now, but his circumstance also offers a neat insight into modern trends, and how high-scoring forwards are not necessarily an essential requirement for a team to win an All-Ireland.
O’Donoghue’s Mayo didn’t even reach the All-Ireland quarter-finals, while two of the other five overall top scorers - Sam Mulroy (Louth) and Cormac Costello (Dublin) - didn’t make the All-Ireland semi-final with their county either. The second-highest scorer from play was Paul Conroy, Galway’s midfielder.
Conroy’s goal against Donegal in the All-Ireland semi-final was a pivotal moment in that match but it was a speculative shot from distance that deceived goalkeeper Shaun Patton, who was distracted by Matthew Tierney.
From the preliminary All-Ireland quarter-finals onwards, there were only eight goals scored from play in 11 games – and seven of those goals were scored by defenders. Some of them weren’t pretty – three came from high balls lofted into the square that either deceived or were spilled by the goalkeeper.
Two came in the All-Ireland semi-finals – Conroy’s strike and Barry McCambridge’s goal against Kerry, which he palmed to the net after Shane Ryan failed to hold a long ball. The other goal that day was a palmed effort from Kerry defender Paul Murphy.
Armagh full-back Aaron McKay scores the match-winning goal against Galway at Croke Park. Picture: Ramsey Cardy/SportsfileArmagh’s goal in the final was a palmed effort from Armagh full-back Aaron McKay.
At the outset of the summer, the championship never looked as stacked with as many quality forwards. Yet defenders were the story of the summer.
It won’t be a surprise when the four players most likely to make the shortlist for Footballer-of-the-Year – Barry McCambridge, Aaron McKay, Paul Conroy and Dylan McHugh – are defenders and a midfielder.
