The Perfect Game

Most of my football days in Kinsale were spent occupying the corner back slot. Barry Gray once praised my versatility as a footballer, saying I could play in the left or the right corner!! When I was up to the age at minor I'd have played midfield. At a similar stage of my U-21 lifespan, I'd have lined out at centre back but would ultimately end up playing a 'sweeper' roll from corner back when Championship came round. My adult debut came against Ballincollig at wing forward and I slotted over a point with one of my first touches. There were other, infrequent assignments which gave me a release but my destiny lay inside a #2 or #4 geansai.

When I was coming through we must have had ten or twelve backs vying for just six slots. Kenny and Lyndon were regularly around Cork Minor, U-21 and Junior panels, Michael O'Leary captained our '98 Minor team, Ricky was an Underdog, Brian O'Connell won a Sigerson with Queens, Keohane and Mick Sull were genuine Senior footballers, Brian 'Corcoran' was a versatile animal of a defender. There were others who would have found their best position in defence too, fellas like the Buckleys and later Rich Sull, Mark Coughlan and Conor Lane. Don't let me forget Cian Quigley, Colm Mac or former Nemo stalwarth Tony Griffen. It was an unbelievable selection of backs to choose from and catering for us all was not possible, even if we were repositioned further out the field.

In that company, I was happy to sneak in anywhere and it was the right corner where it all started. Once Mick Sull joined the ranks I was moved to the left and he took #2. It was a bit bizarre as I was right footed and he was left footed. Our strongest six was probably in the County final year of 2001. Mick Sull, Lyndon and myself in the full back line, fronted by Kenny, Ricky and Keohane. We knew each other inside out after winning Minor and U-21 South-Easts in previous years.

In '05 the full back line was still intact. We complimented each other very well; Lyndon was a powerhouse, Mick Sull a calm commanding presence and then me sweeping in front and behind them. Between us we were equipped for most types of forwards and that year we were all thrown into the fire at some point. Mick Sull would become well acquainted with Vincy Hurley and Michael O'Donovan in the South-East final while I was assigned to follow Seamus Hayes around Riverstick. In the quarter-final against Ballyclough I was despatched to deal with Colm O'Neill. He was only 17 then but you could see the potential. In the semi it was Lyndon who got the honour, taking up the task of marking Fergus Murphy. I wondered about the logic in some of the assignments at times but the fact the selectors trusted us all with different jobs gave us confidence. I loved the buzz when we were all on form, beating our men and watching each others backs.

People look down on the job of corner back but my counter was always, who is the opposition’s most potent attacker? Usual it is in the most attacking line of the pitch. Look at any list of scorers on a Monday morning and they will be the ones headlining. I accepted my role and motivated myself by trying to achieve one thing; what, in my head, I called 'The Perfect Game'.

I'm not sure if I ever shared this with any of the lads before. The Perfect Game would be achieved if your man didn't touch the ball and thus didn't score or assist a score. It was more than that though. A backs job doesn't start and finish with his direct opponent. The Perfect Game idea also involved playing without fear of leaving your man to support your teammate by either showing for a pass or covering his back. You had to do everything in your job spec, not just keep your man scoreless.

I came close in 2002 against Ballinhassig in the first game and the replay. I think the lad I was on might have touched the ball once, maybe twice, the first day. The replay was similar. It was a mini obsession of mine at the time and every time I took the field my goals were centred around achieving that.

As backs, we got great advice along the way. I remember Tony Griffen telling us to race our man to the ball, Humphrey Moynihan preaching about getting a hand or a foot on it and deny the man possession. Simple things but they stroke a cord. Buckley and O’Connell brought they experiences too. Marking fells like the Humph, Farrissey and Gerry Murphy at training was invaluable also. Their movement, cuteness and devilment made you think through your game.

It's up there, where all the thinking goes on, that you need to always develop as a player. Reading the game was one of the key things for me to overcome a pace deficiency! The corner back needs to be the corner forward; watch the spaces opening up, watch the body shape of the man in possession, think out the next move before your man does. Is it going to come in high or low, is the guy on his strong foot or weak foot? If you've processed all this quickly then you don't need to be fast or strong because when the crowd’s eyes shift to follow the flight of the ball, you will be standing there, looking like the beneficiary of an act of luck. There's nothing lucky about it though. Against weaker players it will play out like that, they will kick you the ball because they can't adjust their thinking quickly enough to identify a Plan B. Against a better team though, the ball won't have been delivered because the player will quickly adjust. Either way it doesn't matter. Whether it be denying your man possession by getting to the ball first or just closing another door in the face of the ball carrier, you have done your job. What people don't understand is sometimes you don’t have to touch the ball as a corner back to have a great game, if you win the game of chess then you have also made your contribution to the team.

The lads used to rib me about never kicking the ball. I probably went months of matches only taking a few kicks. It didn't bother me though. Win possession, give it off, go again, give it off again, retreat. Keep it all very simple. I couldn't play there again I don't think. The concentration level over an hour is too high for too few touches of the ball. I was conditioned to it back then, dedicated to my obsession.

You must remember though, you can't play The Perfect Game without the contribution of those around you. I had two massive battles in Pairc Ui Rinn with O'Neill but the pressure on the ball coming in was immense and Buckley's deep lying play provided the cover. At the same venue in '02 I was at sea when James O'Shea made a right prick out of me. That night the cover was AWOL and I was cleaned out.

The corner is unforgiving. You are always one misjudged ball or slip away from a green flag. Even the greatest resistance will be broken if those around you aren't pulling their weight. Rarely will you get the acclaim that a marauding wing back or sharp shooting forward will get. That's not what corner backs want though. They are bastions of a selfless art.

If I were giving a corner back advice now I’d repeat what Tony said about racing your man to the ball. I’d tell him that you have every right to win every single ball and that should be his goal. To never stop attacking the ball, never stop believing in yourself. Don’t resort to fouling as its a degrading act to the institution. The final bit and most important; demonstrate selflessness. Sometimes you must sacrifice yourself for the team. Whether that means playing a position you don’t want or whether it means leaving your man to stop a goal but concede a point. You are an important cog, but just a cog in something bigger.