Inside Track: Ballyjamesduff man had advice for the Cavan team

The chap sitting beside me in Breffni Park last Sunday week came out with a good one. He was a Cavan supporter, and as his team made a sudden breakaway, he shouted: “Get it (the ball) in before the crowd comes”.

The ‘crowd’ were the Louth players, my new-found pal anticipating they’d be streaming back to try to bung up defence. It happened, and on this occasion there were enough of the red jerseyed brigade back in time to block the road to Niall McDonnell’s goals.

The new rules haven’t eliminated the possibility of half the field being populated with as many as 24 players, two goalkeepers among them, at the one time.

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But with the other six barred from crossing the new midfield line, a breakdown in the attack and a quick switch to the other end can yield dividends, maybe even a shot at an unguarded goal. That’s what the man from Ballyjamesduff had in mind when he saw one his team win possession out on the left wing.

What’s been very noticeable in the four rounds of the league played so far is the big scores in games covering all four divisions.

Louth are not the most prolific, but have still come in with 1-17, 1-15, 0-18 and in their first three games. Score in the Cork/Westmeath game was 3-18 to 3-17.

On the back of the changes, the game has now become much faster, and when it’s like that on heavy pitches, what will be like when the going is given as good, hard in places?

Lasting the 70 minutes might make it easier to get around the place, but going the full distance? That will require a huge level of fitness.

If there rules are to be tweaked when a review is held shortly, there’s no question of the length of matches being returned to 60 minutes. But maybe it’s something that might have to be considered at a later date.

Two-pointers are not as valuable as a goal, but they can be game-changers. What they are doing is taking the safety out of a lead, as in hurling.

They were big contributors to Dublin catching up on, and then passing, Kerry in their recent game; and in hindsight, had Louth gone for a few of them, or even a point, in the Cavan match, instead of trying to ‘walk it in’, the result might have been different.

All that used to be a hard watch in the ‘old’ game hasn’t been eliminated. The ball is still going across the field and back again repeatedly, teams defending a lead coming towards the end of a game most likely to engage in it.

When Louth were at it, a turn-over, followed by swift delivery upfield, would surely have had the Cavan man in full voice.