
GAA
Share
Published 16:12 6 Aug 2019 BST
Explore more on these topics:
"Simply outstanding," were the words of Colm Parkinson to kick off the Performance of the Weekend slot on The GAA Hour. "Paddy Durcan marked Ryan McHugh but Ryan McHugh didn't mark Paddy Durcan. So Ryan McHugh used Paddy Durcan being on the ball as an opportunity to maybe get away from him but, in general, Durcan was kicking it dead and running straight back out to get to McHugh before it was kicked back out. "It was the perfect match-up but we know managers don't always pick the perfect one."
During that run to the final in 2017 - which looked so unlikely on so many occasions - Durcan's stats of coming up with the goods were ridiculous.
Time and again, it was him popping up late to kick equalisers and winners or to inspire comebacks for a Mayo team which cemented a status of refusing to die.
But it's not just doggedness or heart with Paddy Durcan, it's skill.
"He's someone who has the running power and the pace to cause McHugh problems going the other way," Cian Ward analysed his display against Donegal. "It's Murphy and McHugh and if they're not getting their hands on the ball, Donegal don't have an awful lot of real ingenuity outside of that or guys that can consistently make things happen. "Durcan was brilliant. His close control for the little dummies, he's such a good shooter as well and he's just been consistently excellent. "It's surprising to me that he's such a tight marker because he's such a good footballer. His strength is always when he's on the ball and driving forward but he's shown a fair capacity in nullifying an opponent as well which is hugely, hugely impressive."Watch that slot here from 58:36. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y7tVPioyVk&t=32s Or you can subscribe to the podcast version here. And listen below.
Cork star tracks down young fan he accidentally injured at Tipp game
A great gesture! After experiencing the joys of Cork’s win over Tipperary on Sunday, a young fan suffered an unfortunate injury when running on to the field after full-time, to get close to his heroes. He went straight for Darragh Fitzgibbon, who, unbeknownst to him, accidentally knocked the kid to the ground and continued on […]
GAA
2 days ago
Dónal Óg involved in tense exchange over Cork pundits with RTÉ presenter
Things got tetchy…. Last week, Cork selector Ronan Curran stated that he felt pundits from the Rebel county could be more of a help to their side. He said: “We kind of think maybe sometimes we could get a bit more help out there from our own lads.” This was brought up during the weekend’s […]
GAA
2 days ago
Pat Spillane makes bold claim that county should be removed from Tailteann Cup
GAA