Arva's All-Ireland: How the battle was won

Tactics Board

Damien Donohoe

Firstly, how the battle was won is purely academic as the most important thing is that the battle was won. Arva, in being crowned the best junior team in not just Ireland but Europe and Britain, won their title with a whole team effort lead by some remarkable leaders. While tactics played a part in the result it was more about desire, work rate, team spirit and honesty.

This was a game of two halves and Arva, by the high standards they have set over the last 13 games, were poor in the first. The only reason they were within three points at the break was their work rate. They made mistakes but they immediately tried to correct them. They got beaten on the kick-outs at both ends of the field and gave away more frees than Listowel.

But at the start of the second half, the change in mindset was clear from moment one. Having lost a throw-in and a throw-up in the first half, Arva won the first contest of the half with Tristan Hofmann catching Anthony Nolan’s throw-in and driving 40 metres forward. This was the start of the quarter that turned the game completely in Arva’s favour.

In the first half, when Arva were second best in shot conversion (33% to 63%), kick-outs won (five from 18), possession given away (Arva four, Listowel three) and frees conceded (Arva 10, Listowel eight) there was one statistic that they were on top in, turnovers won. Arva’s work rate was shown by the seven times they fought and won back the ball compared to Listowel’s three.

In the third quarter Arva’s conversion rate went to 60% (6/10) while Listowel’s dropped to 33% (2/6), Arva gave away the ball three times but they continued to win the turnover count three to nil. Listowel gave away eight frees in the third quarter while Arva only gave away three but the biggest turnaround was on the kick-outs.

In a move like something from the Book of Five Rings by Miyamoto Musashi, Arva implemented ‘Tai No Sen’ (feign weakness and then attack with a killer blow). In this quarter ,, Arva won both of their own kick-outs through Dylan Maguire and won five of Listowel’s seven. This was partly as a result of Arva pushing an extra body into the full-forward line to create a 4-3-5 formation with keeper Cian O’Hara coming out behind the line of five as a reinforcement. It was a brave and maybe risky call but it was probably the most important tactical move of the match. Interestingly, the first and only Arva kick-out that Listowel won in the second half (granted there was only three) was with 63 minutes on the clock.

Coming into the game there were a few key players of Listowel’s that needed special attention if Arva were going to win the game. Sean Keane at corner-forward (but wearing 5) was their playmaker while also contributing to the scoreboard but his impact on Sunday was reduced to a single point from play and a converted free as Finbar McAvinue took him out of the game.

David Keane was the Kerry champions’ top scorer to date and again on Sunday but all three of his points came from frees, none of which he won himself. Charlie Madden never let him have a sniff of the ball to such an extent that he was taken off early in the second half.

The third player in the full-forward line was pivotal to the Listowel attack all year but the former All-Ireland minor winner Bryan Sweeney hadn’t met a back like James Morris before. Instrumental to Arva staying in the game in the first half was the fact that Morris had four of those seven turnovers while blotting Sweeney out.

The fourth player requiring attention was Jack McElligott. Having seen a number of Listowel’s games, I can testify that his ball control, speed and agility are excellent, and I can see why Tomás O’Sé was disappointed that he wouldn’t commit to the Kerry U20s. Fortunately most people didn’t get to see his quality on Sunday because Barry Donnelly never let him get a run at the Arva defence and even managed to show up some defensive weaknesses he had as Donnelly put him on the back foot.

The fifth and final player that needed close marking was midfielder Joe Joe Grimes. Before the All-Ireland final, he had controlled the middle of the field for Listowel, driving forward and winning primary possession on kick-outs. On Sunday, we saw just once what he was capable of as he stuck the ball in the back of the net at the end of a driving run, after the whistle had sounded.

Watching the game back the reason he was so muted was more evident than in real time. Hofmann, while being man marked himself by Darragh Leahy first and then Jamie McVeigh, managed to do a man-marking job on Grimes and come out comfortably on top on both sides of the ball, forcing two turnovers, winning kick-outs, the second half throw-in and kicking two vital points.

The first of Hofmann’s points ended a run of four points in a row for Listowel between the 13th and the 16th minutes and his second was again in response to a Listowel point as he sailed over the first of three scores in a row that pushed Arva back into the lead. It really was a performance from the very top shelf and he must have come very close to getting his hands on the Man of the Match award.

The final pillar to look at in analysing how Arva won the All-Ireland is Ciaran Brady. Statistically, the captain won one Arva kick-out and five of Listowel’s, with four of them coming in the second half (the other was the first of the game). Twice by my count he got the crucial tackle to win back possession for Arva and scored four points from play.

But that only tells part of the story. The four points weren’t just run of the mill scores, they were vital in their timing and in how they affected momentum. His first point came after eight minutes when Arva were on top but had missed their first two scoring chances.

Knowing that a third wide would harm his team’s confidence, he drove inside the 13 -metre line and made no mistake when fisting the ball over the bar and settling his team.

His second came 46 seconds into the second half when it was clear that Arva had upped the tempo but had missed their first opportunity. Hungry for the breaking ball, Brady gathered possession 63 metres from the Listowel goal and after two bounces and a solo, he split the posts, installing belief in his team that pressing the kick-out would work.

His third of the game came 13 minutes later and again off the Listowel kick-out but this time his point put Arva back into the lead for the first time in 30 minutes. Arva pushed on but the game was in the balance as the hour-mark drew closer.

With a little over two minutes to play, Brady’s attitude and leadership was given a chance to shine. A free-kick that didn’t go exactly to plan saw Listowel full-back Niall Collins win the ball but Brady, after sprinting 40 metres, smothered him and won back possession for Arva at a crucial stage.

Arva missed the chance for an insurance point with a free but again pressed the Listowel kick-out. Fittingly, Ciaran’s older brother Thomas broke down the ball from the kick-out to Ciaran Stanley before the Brady brothers combined to see the younger of the two send over the all-important insurance point.

It takes many things going right to win a game and taking enough of your chances is the most important one. Arva did this but for me the statistic that indicates why Arva are the All-Ireland champions is the 14 times they worked their socks off to win back the ball compared to Listowel’s four. Another example that hard work pays - and it paid big on Sunday.