Ladies Gaelic Football

10 // Ladies Gaelic Football Association STATS ANALYSIS OF TG4 SENIOR FINAL PEIL Autumn | Issue No 3 | Volume 14 he 2018 TG4 Senior All Ireland final was a meeting of the two giants of Ladies Football. To date, Cork had undeniably had the upper hand but there was an eager anticipation to see if Dublin could finally dominant the Rebels in Croke Park when it really mattered. Here we look at the numbers that defined this contest. How were Cork beaten despite having more shots on goal than their opponents? How did Dublin gain limitless possession from their kickout strategy? How did Dublin defend against Cork, a team who had averaged more than 4 goals a game in their run to Croke Park. Statistical Analysis provided by @StatsHoleGAA. SINÉAD AHERNE V ORLA FINN In a game between such closely matched teams free taking was always going to be important. Orla Finn missed her first free but would go on to score all 8 of her remaining frees. Corks running game was designed to draw frees from the Dublin backs and Finns 0-8 (along with Doireann O'Sullivan's free towards the end when Cork needed a goal) showed how Dublin were prepared to foul in the scoring zone rather than concede goal chances. Cork on the other hand conceded fewer frees but conceding a penalty and 5 frees inside the 45 allowed Sinéad Aherne slot 1-4 from placed balls (83%). SCORES 1 st 2 nd 1 st 2 nd Total POSSESSIONS ATTACKS SHOTS SCORES CONVERSION RATE TURNOVERS AGAINST 21 15 7 1-05 86% 12 18 18 15 1-07 47% 9 Total 39 33 22 1-12 59% 21 22 16 10 2-06 80% 12 18 15 9 1-05 67% 9 40 31 19 3-11 74% 21 INSIDE 45 OUTSIDE 45 INSIDE 45 OUTSIDE 45 won lost 1 st 2 nd 1 st 2 nd Total TURNOVER BALL CORK KICK OUTS DUBLIN KICK OUTS CORK SHOT (block/drop short) 1-04 0-01 - - 0-05 0-02 - - Total - 1-09 2-02 0-01 0-03 - - - 1-02 0-03 2-02 0-01 1-05 0-03 MATCH STATS WHERE SCORES CAME FROM 0-03 - 1 st 2 nd 1 st 2 nd Total SHOTS TAKEN SCORES WIDES DROPPED SHORT SAVED BLOCKED 7 6 1 0 0 0 15 7 3 2 1 2 Total 22 13 4 2 1 2 10 8 2 0 0 0 9 6 1 1 0 1 19 14 3 1 0 1 SHOT ANALYSIS First Half won lost Second Half won lost First Half won lost Second Half won lost First Half won lost Second Half won lost First Half won lost Second Half 5 10 15 20 25 30 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 SHOTS O'SULLIVAN O'SULLIVAN O'SULLIVAN 10 5 2 1 0-08 1-02 0-01 0-01 SCORERS SCORES SHOTS (1-0p 4f) 9 2 3 1 1-07 2-00 0-02 0-01 SCORERS GOLDRICK 1 0-01 8 0 8 0 0 0 1 1 7 1 6 1 1 1 0 0 CORK DUBLIN DUBLIN CORK DUBLIN CORK DUBLIN CORK 35 40 45 50 55 60 0 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 1 st 2 nd 1 st 2 nd Total POSSESSIONS ATTACKS SHOTS SCORES CONVERSION RATE TURNOVERS AGAINST 21 15 7 1-05 86% 12 18 18 15 1-07 47% 9 Total 39 33 22 1-12 59% 21 22 16 10 2-06 80% 12 18 15 9 1-05 67% 9 40 31 19 3-11 74% 21 INSIDE 45 OUTSIDE 45 INSIDE 45 OUTSIDE 45 won lost 1 st 2 nd 1 st 2 nd Total TURNOVER BALL CORK KICK OUTS DUBLIN KICK OUTS CORK SHOT (block/drop short) 1-04 0-01 - - 0-05 0-02 - - Total - 1-09 2-02 0-01 0-03 - - - 1-02 0-03 2-02 0-01 1-05 0-03 MATCH STATS WHERE SCORES CAME FROM 0-03 - SHOT ANALYSIS First Half won lost Second Half won lost First Half won lost Second Half won lost First Half won lost Second Half won lost First Half won lost Second Half 8 0 8 0 0 0 1 1 7 1 6 1 1 1 0 0 CORK DUBLIN CORK DUBLIN CORK DUBLIN T CORK V DUBLIN STAT ANALYSIS THE FREE TAKERS Both Cork & Dublin have developed a solid and very structured defensive system this season. Every player knows her role and as a result both teams are difficult to break down from general play. This is one reason why a high percentage of the scores came as a result of turnover ball. Indeed more than 50% of the scores came as a consequence of one team turning over possession to the other. Attack minded teams can often leave gaps at the back that can be exploited if possession is turned over unexpectedly. 3 out of the 4 goals in this game came from such instances. THE DEFENSIVE BATTLE

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