Conor McManus: Everyone stands behind their penalty takers but you are ultimately on your own

Irish Times

20 hours ago

It was hurling finals weekend with
Munster
unusually scheduled on Saturday for the first time. It made no difference to the crowds, who filled out the Gaelic Grounds. I was attending a function that evening and so missed the live drama.
The round-robin championship has been great but it's a bit unfair on teams who keep running into each other. Cork and Limerick are already expected to be sorting out the All-Ireland in July's final.
Ulster football is closest to Munster hurling when it comes to generating interest and local rivalry. I never liked playing the same team twice, let alone the prospect of three times in eight to 10 weeks. We faced Tyrone as Ulster champions, having beaten them in the province – almost double the stress! – but at least there was a decent few weeks between the games.
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Cork crowned Munster champions after penalty shoot-out victory over Limerick – as it happened
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Cork turned around a 16-point margin in the final but narrower margins cause even more anxiety for both teams. The losers are almost expected to turn it around the next day and the winners can feel a bit like sitting ducks.
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From Limerick's point of view, it would have been quite difficult to reproduce the form of three weeks ago. You play so well and then have to go and do it all over again.
The penalties brought me back. I understand the need for them, given the nature of the calendar and everything else. But for two teams like
Cork
and
Limerick
to have to finish a game like that doesn't sit well with the prestige of a Munster final.
When you have two teams as well matched as they are – the game was level 17 times – for us not to be fit to say, 'right, we'll come back next week to do that all over again', I think is wrong.
I remember the penalty shoot-out two years ago, against Armagh. It's funny that taking a penalty during a match is so routine. Unless you get one right at the end, it's usually relatively relaxed. Because if you miss, it's not great, but it's probably not going to be life or death either.
When the outcome of an All-Ireland quarter-final depends on these kicks, it's a different scenario. You know the pressure is on you and you have to score because there's a strong chance that if you don't, the team is going to suffer.
They're not something we practised on a collective basis. I used to take a few at training, but there was no organised session. That was for a reason. Some people might be really good penalty takers on a given evening and nail all of them. Then, when there's a pressure moment, they don't deal as well with it.
England at the 2006 World Cup brought on Jamie Carragher late in extra-time because he had been banging in the penalties at training. He didn't wait for the ref's whistle, scored and had to retake it. I don't think anyone in the global TV audience of millions expected him to do it again, and sure enough, he missed.
Anybody can miss a penalty; that's the reality of it, but another reason for not making it part of the collective preparation is that you don't know who's going to be on the field at any given time.
Monaghan's Conor McManus at the final whistle with Seán Jones after the penalty shoot-out win over Armagh in the 2023 All-Ireland quarter-final in Croke Park. Photograph: James Crombie/Inpho
By the time you get through 70 or 80 minutes and then you have your two 10-minute periods of extra-time, you actually don't know who's going to be left on the pitch. So, it's very hard to say, 'yes, we have practised penalties, but we don't know who is going to be there to take them'.
There's a certain element of luck attached to it in that sense. I saw Limerick bring on Diarmaid Byrnes just before the end of extra-time on Saturday, but teams have often used all of their bench options by then.
You also need people who want to do it. You can't be putting any man under pressure and in that particular game against Armagh, it was a case of who's going to hit these? Look around and, hopefully, there are five hands up.
If a man sticks his hand up, he's going to have the backing and the trust of all the other players. That goes without saying, but he's still on his own when the time comes.
At that point, there's nothing else happening, only you and the goalkeeper and trying to see who comes out best. So, there is a fair bit of pressure attached to it, but at the same time, it's a strangely enjoyable experience to be in the middle of it all. The focal point.
I suppose, though, that's strictly the experience of a winning shoot-out.
On that day, we had done such little preparation that we weren't even aware that teams could change the order of their penalty takers. Although the idea is borrowed from soccer, there are variations. You can use the same five players if the teams are level after the first five penalties and shuffle them around.
Armagh knew, and they changed the order of their kickers.
If you take and score the penalty, there's a little hint of smugness as you head back to the huddle. At least that's me done for today. But both teams got four out of five, so I was up again and the second time, the pressure's rising.
I had huge respect for Gary Mohan because he didn't score his first and it must have been a nervous walk-up for his second, but he nailed it.
Football is back this weekend and the most striking thing about the fixtures is the jeopardy for some top teams. In Group 4, Dublin, Derry and Galway are all battling for their lives in this year's championship.
A year ago, these teams were All-Ireland champions, league holders and three-in-a-row Connacht winners, also regarded as Sam Maguire front runners. Come Sunday evening, one of them will be gone. And in Group 1, there's a strong chance that Mayo will be joining them.
Next week's landscape will be very interesting.