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Kilcoo's efficient approach paying big dividends

Footballer Paul Devlin of Kilcoo, Down, pictured ahead of one of #TheToughest showdowns of the year, as Kilcoo face Kilmacud Crokes, Dublin, in the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final this Saturday, February 12th at 5pm. 

Footballer Paul Devlin of Kilcoo, Down, pictured ahead of one of #TheToughest showdowns of the year, as Kilcoo face Kilmacud Crokes, Dublin, in the AIB GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Club Championship Final this Saturday, February 12th at 5pm. 

By John Harrington

Kilcoo attacker, Paul Devlin, sums up the Down club’s playing philosophy with one simple sentence – “The team that makes the least mistakes in games is the team that’s probably going to win the game”.

That attitude is writ large in how they play the game. They’re extremely well-organised without the ball, applying such relentless pressure they regularly force errors that they then ruthlessly exploit.

Then, when they have the ball themselves, they hoard it very carefully by heavily utilising the hand-pass rather than a riskier foot-pass.

Many Gaelic football purists don’t regard it as a pretty way to play the game, but there’s no doubting it’s been pretty effective for Kilcoo.

Manager Mickey Moran has them so supremely well drilled that their methodical approach makes them both difficult to break down and difficult to defend against.

“Something that Mickey definitely nails down on is to keep the ball as long as possible and be efficient when you get into the scoring areas,” says Devlin.

“Football seems to be going that way, you do see a lot more possession based teams, working back, and working it through the lines as such."

Paul Devlin of Kilcoo kicks a point during the AIB Ulster GAA Football Senior Club Championship Quarter-Final match between Ramor United and Kilcoo at Kingspan Breffni in Cavan.

Paul Devlin of Kilcoo kicks a point during the AIB Ulster GAA Football Senior Club Championship Quarter-Final match between Ramor United and Kilcoo at Kingspan Breffni in Cavan.

For an inside forward like Devlin, Kilcoo’s safety-first style of play has forced him to adapt this game.

There are times he would surely prefer to be hit with quicker ball kicked from deeper positions, but he knows he now has to cut his cloth to suit the game-plan which can often mean making lots of decoy runs to create space for runners from deep rather than occupying the scoring zone himself.

He knows too that because his own chances to score might be limited enough, he has to make them count when they do come around.

**“**You definitely need a lot of patience in the forward line,” he admits. “It’s not like years ago when the ball was just kicked in.

“But you have to find your feet and try to get yourself into a position to help the team out and try to get a score, or set up a score for somebody else. It’s all about the team, and as long as the team is doing well then I’m happy.

“You train day in and day out with the same players, so you know what runs that need to be made and what runs they like, so you just have to make the most of it. You’re only on the ball for a certain period of time in the game, and you have to make the most out of it whenever you have it.”

Devlin hopes that the well-oiled Kilcoo machine is now better calibrated to win Saturday’s AIB All-Ireland Club Final against Kilmacud Crokes than they were when defeated after extra-time by Corofin in the 2020 Final.

“Last time it was our first time being there, and people were probably just in awe of the whole situation, but as players we have already been there, we have done the whole hype about it, it’s more about focusing on the team, and focusing on performance, and producing the goods on the field.

We have definitely learned from our previous time in Croke Park, so hopefully this time around the preparation will be a lot quieter in terms of getting ready for the game.

“We've learnt a lot, and we've blooded a lot of new players who've seen a lot of football this year, and have grown throughout our journey to the All-Ireland. You love to see young players coming in, blossoming, and producing their best football for their club.

“As an older player on the team, it's good to see that. Some players are playing with no fear, and sometimes that's what you have to do.”