Coleman made biggest Mark of all Cork hurlers in club action

Taking in two senior matches at the weekend, it was striking to see the different tactics teams deployed to get the most out of their star men – and how their opponents tried to shut them down.

Take Mark Coleman and Shane Barrett for Blarney against Watergrasshill, and Darragh Fitzgibbon and Tim O’Mahony on opposite sides in Charleville versus Newtownshandrum.

Each is a key cog in the middle-third for Cork, playing between jerseys 7 and 11. 

Three of the four have All-Stars, and the fourth is a close contender this year. For their clubs, they are the central characters, with the dynamism, physicality, and accuracy to decide any match.

Each team opted to field those players in different lines. None of those positions were where they customarily feature for Cork.

Coleman, wearing 7, roamed from midfield for Blarney. Ahead of him, Barrett, wearing 11, started on the edge of the square. 

O’Mahony, wearing 8, lined out centre-back for Newtown. Fitzgibbon played at right half-forward for Charleville.

Coleman enjoyed the freest role and was the most influential of the lot in their season-extending 21-point win over the Hill.

Across the hour, he shuttled up and down the pitch, picking up the sliotar 29 times, including 12 placed balls. 

PERFECT

With those possessions, he attempted 17 passes and only mislaid one. In their dominant second half, he executed a perfect 13 successful passes out of 13. No ball was wasted.

The remaining 12 possessions were all shots. He converted the first eight in a row before missing three late frees. 

Two went wide, and one was saved for a 65, which he popped over for his ninth point.

Yet the numbers don’t do justice to his overall influence. Off the ball, he fell back to protect the D. He produced a superb block to prevent one point, and pressured the shooter into another wide as they flattened the Hill’s attack.

On puck-outs, he targeted the breaking ball. Two of his three points from play came from that source.

He appeared to glide around the field with consummate ease, always bringing his teammates into the contest.

“He's a fantastic leader. When Mark puts his hand up and says, ‘Blarney, come on’, the lads row in behind him,” said manager Michael Barrett in the aftermath.

Shane Barrett began at full-forward in a knock-on effect from Pádraig Power’s long-term injury. But the dangerman did his best work when moved out to centre-forward after 25 minutes. Having been held scoreless by Bride Rovers, he was tied up again in the opening stages by Kevin O’Neill, a lack of space, and limited supply.

On the inside line, he hit an early wide, assisted a point, and was handed two confidence-building tap-over frees by Coleman.

In all, he went almost 20 minutes without getting a grasp of the sliotar in play until being moved out to the centre. There, he had the scope to roam. That freedom was exemplified by his first touch after the switch. He ran onto the sliotar in space and arrowed over the crossbar.

Despite the continuing close attention, he gained eight possessions from play (compared to two on the inside) in the remainder of the contest, adding three more assists.

Out there, he was able to contribute more defensively, linking with Coleman for a couple of turnovers and pulling off a textbook hook.

His retreat kept spare defenders away from the clogged-up inside line, which liberated Cathal McCarthy, Cian Barrett, and Jerry Murphy to combine for 3-5 thereafter.

PATIENCE

The North Cork derby saw O’Mahony and Fitzgibbon playing at close quarters, but rarely meeting.

Fitzgibbon was closely monitored by Cormac O’Brien and forced to bide his time. In fact, his pair of first-half points from play came when lingering in midfield, away from his marker, after taking placed balls – although O’Brien sniped one in return.

It was a shoot-on-sight licence for Fitzgibbon, who peppered 15 shots at the posts from all angles, scoring seven. 

He also won seven puck-outs, which led to three of his four points from play.

“We start him at half-forward, but Darragh is Darragh,” said manager Dominic Foley of his roving role.

O’Mahony, meanwhile, handled the sliotar 29 times in a deep-lying station. With those possessions, he clipped 0-4 (two from play) out of six shots, and his long passing frequently connected with Newtown attackers.

However, Charleville gave a masterclass in penalising O’Mahony when he dropped to cover his defence. Seán Bresnan (first half), Zach Biggane (third quarter), and Conor Buckley (final quarter) took turns drifting from centre-forward. They collected 0-8 across the hour, but 0-6 of their scores came when operating in that role.

Like the best teams, they were far from reliant on their star man to deliver a collective performance.