Brolly: Aidan O'Shea was all over the place

August 20, 2017

Joe Brolly

The Mayo management's gamble in playing Aidan O'Shea full-back on Kieran Donaghy backfired spectacularly, according to Joe Brolly.

Speaking on the Sunday Game Facebook Live in the aftermatch of today's epic drawn encounter, the Derry All-Ireland winner shone a spotlight on the impact that the Kerry full-forward had on the game.

"Playing full-back is a world away from playing midfield," he opined. "A good full-back spends a lifetime in there and understands it and you could see Aidan O'Shea was all over the place.

"It didn't work and Donaghy was the crucial influence from Kerry's perspective and they wouldn't have survived in the game without him. He set up 2-4 and scored a point himself and was very dominant in there."

Meanwhile, Brolly's colleague Colm O'Rourke questioned Stephen Rochford's decision to substitute goalscorer Colm Boyle.

"It was very early in the second half when he took him off, he obviously wanted to get Paddy Durcan on the pitch and I would say that Paddy Durcan should be on the pitch from the very beginning and he kicked a great point.

"The problem is where do you accommodate (Keith) Higgins, Boyle, (Lee) Keegan and Durcan? I think they should accommodate one of those players in the half-forward line. It gives them more go-forward.

"We didn't see Higgins or Keegan making the same impact going forward. They were well tracked by the Kerry players. Higgins never got into the same positions he did against Roscommon. Boyle should be left on, he's the sort of player that inspires Mayo."


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