The Barrs had few tactics for the Haven game, Brian Hurley will never have an easier game.
If the Barrs had lost that game the management would have been to blame for not putting a man in front of Hurley.
Will they be ready for Clonakilty in the final?
How would you break down the Clonakilty tactic of defending in big numbers?
First option is always to get the ball into the scoring zone quickly before they get numbers back (no shit). But generally speaking a defensive team will get men back so if and when they do you need to be patient, keep width and depth in your attack, don’t take risks with possession, stretch and switch the play quickly, create overlaps, dummy runs to remove defenders from the D, don’t take too much out of the ball - moving it quickly between players can disorient the defence, keep the ball until you can create a clear scoring chance within the scoring zone.
Basically the Barrs should sit down and watch every Dublin game from the past 5 years and copy them. They’re the masters at breaking down the blanket defence, they made it redundant at the top level. Unfortunately, poorly coached teams and headless players in club games mean ultra defensive tactics are still VERY effective at club level.
If you happen to get turned over ensure you’re not 1 v 1, 2v2, etc. at the back, always have a +1 or even +2 defender. For a blanket defence to be successful from an offensive point of view they need to counter attack at pace after a turnover, Clon were excellent at this against Douglas. Barrs need to slow down/stop (by fair means or foul) Clons best counter attackers (Liam Donovan, White, Clancy, etc.) from breaking at pace.
It’s very do-able but to be honest I wouldn’t have any great confidence in the Barrs doing it. I’ve a feeling (could be wrong) they like the idea of going toe to toe with a team and trusting their players to outplay the opposition. Not to say they wouldn’t be tactically aware but I wonder is there an attitude of we’re the better team, let them worry about us…
