THE POSITIONING OF Mayo talisman Aidan O’Shea in yesterday’s All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry was a huge talking point to emerge from a titanic struggle.
O’Shea was pitched up in defence in an attempt to get a handle on Kerry’s man-mountain Kieran Donaghy – but the experiment was generally deemed a failure.
Speaking on The Sunday Game last night, Donaghy’s former team-mate Colm ‘Gooch’ Cooper pointed out that Donaghy had a hand in 2-4, while also scoring a point.
He explained: “Mayo were so concerned with Donaghy playing on top of the square and so concerned with his aerial ability, they felt we have to put our best man in the air back on him.
“They were happy enough to give Donaghy ball out in front but I think they might have underestimated Kieran’s influence on the game because he had a hand in two goals and four points, scored a point, he was busy throughout the day.
“It was a bizarre decision, we felt anyway, playing Aidan O’Shea back there.
“I’d be very surprised if he was still back there next weekend.”
Former Dublin midfielder Ciaran Whelan said: “Full-back is a specialist position – it’s the hardest position to play on the field.
“To put somebody back there against probably the most seasoned full-forward – a guy who knows all the tricks in the book – it was such a difficult task.
“What it said to me is that Mayo didn’t have confidence in any of their defenders to go back there and they made this call and they took Aidan O’Shea’s influence out of the middle of the park.
“He’s the one who’s dragged them single-handedly through the qualifiers and has been a massive influence.
“It didn’t work – it was a brave call that failed badly and it’s something that they’re going to have to look at the next day.”
The42 Podcasts / SoundCloud
Subscribe to The42 podcasts here:
