Preview: High-scoring game likely with little to choose between them

GAA

Mark McGowan

We’ve reached the end of the road for all bar six of the footballing counties who set out in 2022. When the Tailteann Cup line-up was confirmed, Cavan and Westmeath were the bookies’ favourites to be crowned inaugural champions, and so it’s transpired.

The winners on Sunday, along with being the first name inscribed on the freshly-minted cup, will guarantee safe passage to 2023’s new-look All-Ireland series, and receive a team holiday courtesy of the association.

These, of course, are secondary concerns next to a big final at GAA Headquarters, and Mickey Graham and Jack Cooney will have left no stone unturned as they seek to gain the upper hand in what’s expected to be a very close contest.

Graham faces the kind of selection headaches managers love as – at the time of writing at least – he has no injury worries and multiple choices in several positions. Of course, Raymond Galligan will be in goals, with Padraig Faulkner, Killian Brady, Jason McLoughlin, Conor Brady, Killian Clarke, Thomas Galligan, Gerry Smith, Gearoid McKiernan, Oisin Kiernan, James Smith and Patrick Lynch all guaranteed to be named in the first 15, leaving three starting berths up for grabs.

Ciaran Brady has been one of the Breffni men’s star performers for the best part of a decade, but has struggled to regain the form he showed prior to his ACL injury last season, and with Conor Moynagh fit again after picking up an injury versus Donegal, he could be brought back in to the starting line-up, possibly at the Arva man’s expense.

Despite doing enough to see off Sligo in the semi-final, Cavan were noticeably open through the central channel and Moynagh’s organisational and game-reading are possibly his greatest assets on the field. Given how Westmeath ripped Offaly to shreds with the kind of direct and powerful running that caused Cavan such problems against Sligo, not to take action to shore up the side defensively would be uncharacteristically reckless on Graham’s behalf.

Assuming Moynagh starts, that would leave Brady, Luke Fortune, Cian Madden, Stephen Smith, Cormac O’Reilly, Martin Reilly and Niall Carolan battling it out for the remaining starting roles. Unlike most modern inter-county managers, Jack Cooney often prefers to play with three advanced players for the majority of the match with corner-forwards Luke Loughlin and Lorcan Dolan maintaining that attacking threat and John Heslin drifting in and out in a relatively free role. Though Fortune is a silky footballer who can get forward and score, he is the most naturally defensive-minded of these so I’d expect him to get the nod and slot in alongside Faulkner and Killian Brady in the full-back line.

Personally, I’d select Madden as the final starter given his stamina and versatility as a ball-carrier who will cover every blade of grass in what is likely to be an energy-sapping encounter. Martin Reilly is the most likely alternative and while the Killygarry veteran’s experience and ability to deliver quality ball could be vital, I’d prefer to keep him in reserve and be brought in to finish the game when that little bit of experience counts even more.

The St Loman’s Mullingar trio of Heslin, Sam McCartan and Ronan O’Toole are the axis of Westmeath’s attack, but the attacking intent of the half-back line, and James Dolan and Ronan Wallace in particular, is where Westmeath are most dangerous. So far, Killian Brady has excelled against Michael Murphy, Sean Quigley and Niall Murphy, so we can hope he gets to grips with Heslin, with Faulkner picking up Luke Loughlin due to The Downs clubman’s superior aerial ability, leaving Fortune to track the pacey Lorcan Dolan.

In the next line, as previously mentioned, McCartan and O’Toole are the danger men and O’Toole in particular handles a lot of ball in the playmaker role. Graham has options here, and could ask Conor Brady to man-mark him in similar fashion to how he handled Michael Langan earlier in the championship - but I think Jason McLoughlin would be a better fit.

Superb against Sligo, McLoughlin has the legs to follow O’Toole all over the park and this is often frustrating for the kind of player who likes time on the ball to pick out passes or start moves. Assuming McLoughlin is handed this task, then I’d expect Brady to pick up McCartan.

Despite wearing number six, Killian Clarke has put in consistently disciplined performances at midfield, allowing Thomas Galligan the freedom to attack without fear of being caught out completely should possession be turned over.

Athlone’s Ray Connellan is a strong, powerful runner and by far the most attacking of Westmeath’s big men in the middle third so it’s a no-brainer that the Shercock man will lock horns with him, just as I’d expect Sam Duncan to start alongside Connellan and attempt to do a similar job on Galligan.

Duncan is strong and extremely disruptive, but unlikely to be too adventurous, and will likely play on the goal-side of Galligan, watchful not to allow him to drift unfollowed into the danger zone where the Breffni men will already have a slight size advantage.

Possibly the most interesting match-up could be Ronan Wallace on Gearoid McKiernan. Far from a man-marking centre-back, the red-haired Multyfarnham flyer will attempt to put McKiernan on the back foot as much as possible, dragging him back towards his own goals, but of course this is fraught with danger because should possession be turned over then McKiernan is capable of clipping scores with ease; but the danger posed by Wallace cannot be underestimated so he will have to be tracked. Oisin Kiernan could be asked to sacrifice his own attacking nature and offer support in stopping Wallace because the Castlerahan man certainly has the legs for it, but again this is a risky tactic as any confusion can lead to disastrous consequences at the other end.

So far, Paddy Lynch’s best performances have come against the sticky man-marking full-backs but has looked less comfortable when marked by a full-back with major attacking intent of his own such as Fermanagh’s Jonny Cassidy, and Westmeath’s number three Kevin Maguire is cut from similar cloth.

Decent aerially, without being overly tall, Maguire is still the biggest of the natural inside-defenders in the Westmeath ranks. Jack Smith is a tigerish corner-back in the mould of Cavan selector Ryan McMenamin and Jamie Gonoud is a versatile corner/half-back with a good engine, but would probably struggle aerially against James Smith.

For these reasons, we may see Jonathan Lynam – traditionally a midfielder – brought in to offer additional size because Smith has probably been Cavan’s most dangerous attacking outlet this season and would be licking his lips at the prospect of a size mismatch so close to goal.

But it’s never straightforward for a player to take up a relatively unfamiliar position against a man that has seriously troubled every opposition he’s faced this year, and if Smith has a big bearing on the game, Cavan are a long way to sealing victory.

Of course, so removed from the traditional six-versus-six at either end game are we, that these matchups are only generally speaking. Several times a game each of the 14 outfield players on each side will directly face each of their 14 opponents and many will face the opposition keeper too. Now more than ever, it is a team game and there’ll be countless times that each man will pick up whoever’s nearest, and games are won as often from the chaotic melee – to use the buzzword of the day in a slightly different context - of broken play as they are from rehearsed moves and perfect execution.

Finally, we’ll look at kick-out strategies. Being a relatively small side, Offaly were happy to concede Westmeath’s kick-outs rather than risk being caught with the long ball, and this gave Westmeath ample opportunity to play to their strength which is hard-running off the shoulder. Cavan, being the bigger side physically, are unlikely to do that. I’d expect that for the vast majority of Westmeath’s kick-outs, goalkeeper Jason Daly will be faced with a strong press and will look to hit runners breaking toward the wings in that section between the 45 and 65 metre lines.

At the other end, Raymond Galligan’s first option has been to go long all season and I can see no reason why the boomer – and more often than not they are guided missiles as opposed to agricultural hoofs – won’t be the weapon of choice once more. In addition to his favoured targets of McKiernan and his cousin Thomas, he’ll often have the option of Faulkner wide and plenty movement within chipping distance should Galligan opt against kicking the ball into heavier traffic.

Ultimately, I expect this to be quite an open and high-scoring game, and you’d expect Mickey Graham to fancy Cavan’s chances in a shoot-out, but shoot-outs are unpredictable and quite often it’s goals that win a very open game. Cavan have the advantage physically, and as they demonstrated against Sligo by having 11 points by 11 different scorers at one stage, threat from all angles, but if they allow Westmeath to penetrate as frequently as Sligo did then they’ll be very fortunate not to be more severely punished.

But this is a final. Tension will be in the air and that added electricity has a tendency to manifest itself in mysterious ways.

Only time will tell.