IT WAS A game that left most with one sole takeaway: the Gaelic Football championship is not fit for purpose. 20 points was the margin as Mayo strolled past Sligo in the 2021 Connacht quarter-final.
Complaints about an uncompetitive and crude competition were immediate. Meanwhile, Sligo forward Niall Murphy spent the afternoon pleasantly surprised.
“Sometimes I would rather play the top teams because they go more orthodox,” he admits. He finished with 0-6, five from play.
“Playing Mayo last year, I could not believe the space in front of me. Often, I see the Kerry or Dublin full-back line getting ridiculed and wonder do people realise they are prepared to go one on one and beat you in a shoot-out. It is a sign of belief.
“In Division 3 and 4, I think a lot of teams go really defensive. They maybe have an eye on the summer and staying competitive, getting numbers behind the ball. This year, it is very hard in February and March to analyse games because the weather is so bad. It is slow ball. A slow game.”
That day when Sligo attacked down the wing, they could kick long because the Mayo full-back line played man on man.
Barry Gorman was a long target and won the ball cleanly at the back post.
Murphy had the space to run a loop and kick a score.
Too often that pass is impossible due to a packed defence. The opposite of what is desired. Still, he strives. Thrives. Murphy is a marksman who has spent the majority of his career toiling in intense conditions.
From the offset, there was not just excitement but an expectation to lead the line. He kicked three points when handed his debut by then-manager Kevin Walsh during a 2012 FBD League game. So it continued. Two in that year’s U21 final loss against Roscommon. Five and a player of the match award when they reached the same stage two years later.
Bar set.
Then he stalled. Some players have ‘it’ by 18. For Murphy, that eureka moment did not strike until he was 22. Aptitude could not compensate for the wrong mentality and attitude. In 2012 he made the move to DCU and was suddenly exposed to a higher standard.
He saw a new world. The next frontier for him as a player. A frontier that still looms for the county.
“I think a lot of it comes down to the individual. Skill-wise, I don’t think there is a massive gap between us and the top teams. Sligo versus Dublin or whoever.
“I look at Sligo underage. They compete with Mayo, Roscommon and Galway. They beat them. What happens from underage to senior? For me, I think it is down to individuals and their mental state. Their ability to get to the pitch of being a senior player.
“You get probably 30 lads in Division 1 who are completely bought in. When they wake up in the morning, they are thinking about football. As you go down the divisions, you lose players.
“A lot of it is outside of training and outside the pitch. I see Mayo and Dublin players come in and blow up in a year or two. Athletically, they transform. They really want to do that. We need to be getting young players to buy into that in Sligo. It is easier when you see success at the top level.”
He lurched from one extreme to the other. In his mid-twenties, Murphy got serious. Too serious. He was ultra-strict with diet and training and rarely socialised away from the sport. He spent too much time in the gym and not enough with a ball. Now, finally, he has found the remedy for success.
“I definitely fell into that trap. I never went to do a kicking session up until two or three years ago. It was what was done during that period, getting big and strong was the goal. Blowing up. It was all about getting as heavy as you can. It definitely affected ball skills. I was never at a wall with a ball and sometimes I think shit, maybe I should because you often hear about it.
“In the last two years, I put more emphasis on going out on my own. It depends on the load of the week. If it is a high load, I might only do 15 minutes of kicking. If it is low, I do twice that. I have brought that in again the last two years.
“I definitely was conscious of that. Getting back with the ball. I am happy with my S&C. I’m as strong as ever. I won’t get faster. Getting out by myself and 30 minutes before training, it is back to the old school where skills are really important again.
“We only do one gym session a week, one gathering. On a training day, we might do some gym and pitch work, double it up.
“There are years done by when we did three gym sessions a week. If you are 18, 19 you maybe need to focus on that. I’m 28 now. It is between tidying up skills.”
The Coolera/Strandhill clubman has long argued for the league to revert to a 1A/1B, 2A/2B system. While the entertainment is great, how many teams properly develop thanks to it? More exposure to the rungs above could prompt that.
At the end of the day, that is the main priority. Sligo’s progress. Murphy was the fourth top scorer from play across the bottom two divisions with 2-13, despite the fact he missed the final two league games due to injury. At the same time, he is learning to take as much satisfaction from the uncharted contributions.
Take his role in their goal against Tipperary during the league. He was in possession of the ball for less than a second. However, prior to that came several hard runs and a perfectly timed handpass.
The move finished with Luke Towey’s well-taken goal.
Conor Sweeney contributed four points as Tipperary defeated Sligo at FBD Semple Stadium in Division Four of the Allianz Football League. GAANOW has the highlights here. pic.twitter.com/OpJ1UF5FjY
— The GAA (@officialgaa) March 1, 2022
There is a selfish streak in every top scoring forward. In the lower divisions, that has to be squared against the reality that they will get closer attention from the opposition. What’s more, scant opportunities need to be maximised.
The defensive style of football that ruled for much of the previous decade helped reinforce this reality: “For a forward, you were getting loop ball hand passes rather than a nice foot pass. You learn it is about better movement in tighter situations with so many men around.”
Now it is on to New York. Whether it is as a finisher or creator, come Monday morning Murphy just wants to be heading home with a win.
“Being on the end of it yourself is nice, but with Sligo, you need to make sure of every score. You are conscious of that. We are usually underdogs. I know that.
“Every ball counts.”
