Analysis: How Cork's kickout control played a crucial role in the victory over Cavan

Cork’s opening round victory over Cavan was an enthralling one, a brilliant late fightback that saw John Cleary’s side get the two crucial points they needed to kick start their Division 2 campaign.

While there’s still work to be done and there were aspects of the performance on Sunday that won’t suffice going forward, it was an improvement in many respects on the McGrath Cup win over Kerry.

One such area where the Rebels did step it up, was their kickouts.

Cork retained 21 of their 27 kickouts across the 70 minutes against Cavan, a solid 78% success rate, and they did so with a clear balance to their restarts. It’s a big jump too from the 54% retention they posted against Kerry.

In the first half alone, Cork secured 11 from 14 against Cavan, with almost every one of those kickouts landing out going wide, and the vast majority short.

Doyle was accurate with most short deliveries, the exceptions coming from a Dara McVeety interception and one restart that drifted over the 20-metre line and had to be surrendered, a mistake that also caught out Cavan goalkeeper Liam Brady in the same half.

Those moments aside though, Cork’s execution was crisp, and of their three long distance kickouts, they retained each of them.

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Cork’s short restarts were built around a defensive arc formed just outside their own 40-metre arc, as the defenders created enough space to offer at least five different outlets, reducing the need for risk as Doyle stood over the kickouts. When Cork were looking for longer options, the team deliberately crowded the middle third.

That twin approach allowed them to avoid predictability and ensured that even when the ball was broken, it tended to fall in Cork’s favour, especially in the second half. That really came into play in the closing stages of the game when Cork seized control and turned the game around.

Defensively, Cork were equally disciplined. Their zonal set-up on Cavan’s kickouts reduced space around the middle, and it worked well for large parts of the game as Cavan’s approach was to almost exclusively to target the halfway line and win the high ball.

Cavan were not blown away from Cork’s approach, though. They retained nine of 13 in the first half, but the nature of those possessions often proved limiting. They retained 19 of their 29 kickouts overall.

Cork went 10 from 13 on their own restarts after the break – maintaining their first half results – while Cavan dropped to 10 from 16, with all but three of their restarts going long. The drop-off wasn’t dramatic, but it did have an impact on the game.

Under pressure, Cavan’s options narrowed further, their general play becoming increasingly congested, which played into Cork’s hands, especially as the second half wore on. They had no plan B and paid the price for it.

The kickout battle wasn’t the winning of the game, but the Rebels won nine of 12 kickouts that went beyond their own 45, and it did have an impact Cork will still need to work on their shooting efficiency though, their 52% conversion from play won’t raise Louth’s eyebrows, but if they can maintain that level of consistency with their kickouts, they’ll be on the right path.