Failure to take chances is undoing Tipp’s hard work

By Thomas Conway

Imagine being a Dublin ladies’ footballer. Just imagine it for a second. For four years running you’re top of the world, practically invincible, en route towards five-in-a-row after years of playing second-fiddle to an awesome Cork outfit. And then, in one felt, unanticipated swoop, you’re swished aside by a group of underrated ball-players from Meath.

It must have been pretty galling. Now Meath are superstars, Gaelic games A-listers, famous faces in their native county and beyond. As for Dublin. They’re still a brilliant team, but their throne has been usurped. They’ve been wounded - which should make them twice as dangerous.

And yet for seventy-five per-cent of last Sunday’s encounter against Tipperary, they didn’t look dangerous at all. In fairness, they turned it on when it mattered most, in the final quarter, but their overall display was plagued by profligacy. Or was it?

Perhaps Tipperary’s defensive structure was just so compact, so coherent, that Dublin couldn’t create sufficient space to generate scoring opportunities. Tipp were good last Sunday, quite good, but had they been just a little bit better, they might have pushed Dublin all the way. Peter Creedon knew this after the game. He praised his side’s defensive rigour, but he also zeroed in on their major weakness - inefficiency in front of goal.

“Look, we probably had that game at four points really. Great effort from the girls, great defensive display,” he began.

“I suppose the story of our year is that we’re just not getting the ball over the bar enough, we’re not taking our goal chances, and in fairness to the team, we created a lot today, but we’re just not putting the ball over or under the bar.”

Football these days is all about systems, and whatever system Tipp put in place last Sunday, it worked marvellously for two thirds of the game. Creedon admitted that they made certain adjustments at half-time, little tweaks which enabled them to unsettle Dublin after the restart, and although Mick Bohan’s side would eventually get to grips with their opponents, Tipp proved that they could mix it with one of the best in the business.

One of the best, and also one of the most physical. Dublin are indeed a powerful side, but Peter Creedon was not happy with the tackling technique adopted by many of their players. In fact, he was quite irate, openly questioning the integrity of the ladies’ football rulebook - which he feels is being influenced by managers from some of the stronger counties, many of whom have issued calls for greater physicality to be introduced to the game.

“I have to say I thought the Dublin tackling was borderline, all the way through, and I have absolutely no idea why they’re allowed to get away with it,” he added.

“I know their manager has been looking for more physicality in the women’s game, but when you’re close-lining girls up around the head, that’s just not on. I counted five instances where we had a girl down with a head injury, due to a belt to the head. I thought some of the tackling today was scandalous.”

Creedon’s rebuke of the rulebook could, and perhaps should, prompt discussions about the degree of physicality currently permitted within the women’s game, and whether clarity is required in terms of proper tackling techniques. To be clear however, the Tipp boss wasn’t questioning the outcome of Sunday’s encounter. Dublin prevailed because they were the better outfit, the more experienced side. They will march on towards the knockout stages. Tipperary must focus on avoiding relegation when they take on Cavan.