Tactical analysis: Mayo need method rather than madness

Galway rode their luck a little to come out of a bruising encounter with Mayo, who rattled their composure at times. Yet Mayo weren‘t able to find that composure themselves when it was needed, as turnovers and tackles dominated an enthralling game of football.

Final play: the same but different

Tweleve months ago in the Connacht final, Galway led by a point as time was running out. David Gough had signalled five extra minutes and Cillian O’Connor got off a rushed speculative shot from outside the 45 as the clock read 76.15. Fast forward a year and Galway are two points up, the hooter has sounded and a two-point effort is needed for secure a draw.

It is the same type of scenario but the big difference from last year was that Mayo had all the time in the world to try to manufacture the right shot, and execute it on their terms.

They didn‘t do this, as they played with typical Mayo abandon and urgency, which led to Matthew Ruane shooting over blocking hands with the outside of his boot. This scenario now requires clear thinking and the execution of a training ground move.

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There are a number of elements to this phase that are interesting and the devil is in the detail. The game is in a 14 v 14 at this stage, as Matthew Tierney has just been shown a black card by Paddy Neilan, so in theory there is potentially a little more space on the field to create mismatches and go at Galway defenders. As the phase settles, Jack Carney is left as one of the Mayo men up the field. He is sat on the half way line and can‘t cross − is he the type of player who warrants being involved in the attack?

In this final phase, Ryan O’Donoghue is on the ball on the 65m line as a pivot and Jack Carney is one of the men left back

Then Ryan O’Donoghue gets possession of the ball five times in the phase but all were from 50m out at least, and only ever as a pivot, rather than the man they are looking to get on the end of the move. Surely, their go-to shooter needs to be positioned differently in this phase?

The final shot from Ruane was in zone 10, which the latest set of statistics released by the FRC last week shows has a 38% shot chance. Is trying to draw the free in the central zone 9, a better option? You can be sure in a similar situation that Armagh would have a structured set play to increase their conversion percentage. For instance, maybe overloading inside the 20m line to create space outside − something that clearly wasn‘t done as Ruane shot.

Mayo have created no inside overload - to create space outside - as Matthew Ruane hits the speculative final effort

Statistics released by the FRC on two-point shots in all league and championship games

Kickouts: problems with the short game

A team’s own kickout is becoming a real problem area, and there is a clear struggle to develop the required nuance. Both teams had periods of dominance on the opposition kickout. Galway had it in the first half from the 20th minute on, winning six of Colm Reape’s kickouts in a row, as they extended their lead from two points to eight by the 28th minute.

Mayo had similar joy for a period in the second half, winning three Galway kickouts in a row and turning over a short kickout, allowing them to close the gap by four points in this short period.

Kickouts from Galway and Mayo during the Connacht final

The short kickout is fast becoming a thing of the past, as both teams put themselves under pressure with them. Galway in the second half went short three times − one ball failed to cross the 20m line and the other two were turned over by Mayo before the ball reached halfway.

And Mayo got punished severely for Colm Reape’s miscue in the 61st minute, as Rob Finnerty sniped in ahead of Rory Brickenden and drew a foul, which resulted in a converted free and a black card for Brickenden. This represented a huge momentum swing, as the game was level at this point.

Shooting: a question of where and when

The difference in two-point efforts tells a vital tale of the game. Galway scored three from seven attempts. Paul Conroy scored three from four attempts. That is 43% conversion rate or 0.86 points per two point effort.

It has been well highlighted that Conroy is a serious weapon in this territory, which makes the space afforded to him for his first score startling, even allowing for the fact that a powerful late run from Dylan McHugh took away some of the Mayo cover (see below). Conroy’s effortless striking is a dream to watch and a nightmare for oppositions to try and shut down, yet Mayo only started to put adequate pressure on him after his initial efforts. The ease with which he got his two scores from play will be a concern for Mayo, but a warning to others.

Paul Conroy’s first two pointer, where the space he was afforded was aided by Dylan McHugh's late dart forward

Shots taken by Mayo and Galway during the Connacht final

Compare that to Mayo, with eight attempts and only two converted. A 25% conversion rate or only 0.5 points per two-point effort. Mayo had a scattergun approach to their two point efforts, compared to Conroy hitting over half of Galway’s ones.

This approach was shown by the different people making the attempts. Ruane was the man who pulled the trigger for the effort after the hooter, and he had form after landing one of their successful efforts earlier in the game. There was also the smart thinking from Connor Gleeson to get a touch to a two-point effort by Ryan O’Donoghue, ensuring it only registered as one point (even if it was potentially over the bar before Gleeson got his hand on it).

Corner backs from both teams had similar strike runs in the game, but the luck was with Galway, as they secured a return from theirs. Johnny McGrath raided forward, untracked by Ryan O’Donoghue in the 26th minute to get a shot off which was smothered by Colm Reape, but referee Neilan harshly called a penalty for a minor tug back, which Matthew Tierney dispatched.

Enda Hession had a similar run in the 66th minute as he was through one-on-one with Gleeson but his shot went too high and was easily palmed away. A further opening in the Galway defence came a minute later, but Paul Towey’s effort was blocked by Dylan McHugh − the real gutpunch came when Galway broke fast up the field and scored through Liam Ó Conghaile to go two ahead.

Mayo showed their usual heart and bravery but the lack of cool heads for those shots in the final four minutes is encapsulated in the galling figure that Mayo only scored 14 times from 28 shots (50%).

Paul O’Brien is a performance analyst with The Performance Process (twitter.com/NoPlanBGAA).