THE biggest story I took from last weekend’s final rounds of the National Football League came in the Monaghan versus Galway game. Was it the fact that the match was a true relegation battle? Was it because both teams showed great never-say die spirit? Or was it Conor McManus’s last gasp equalizer to bring the game into extra time? It was actually none of the above.
For me, the story I thought had the biggest impact was the scenes of Monaghan goalkeeper Rory Beggan tackling his Galway counterpart. The Oriel custodian left his crease and joined the attacking play of his team. Marauding forward at pace, he made a direct run straight through the middle of the field into Galway’s goal area and he did this totally unopposed. Looking at the replays of this situation, if the Monaghan forward had played a deft pass Beggan would have certainly raised a green flag.
Instead, the ball was slightly over hit and was easily taken by the Galway ’keeper who was then fouled by Beggan who attempted the mandatory Goalkeeper’s Union fist bump. All joking aside it is just another example of the current evolution that the goalkeeping position is undergoing. Every week I see more and more goalkeepers leaving their goal area and joining the play not just at county level but also at club level as well.
More and more goalkeepers are gaining the confidence to venture out of their creases and become an attacking threat for their team. What is more important is the fact that team managers and coaches are also becoming more confident with goalkeepers coming out to join the play. I predict the start of a tactical boom in this area whereby teams will really focus their play by using the goalkeeper as a springboard for their attacks.
It has begun already and many stories on social media have surfaced about who started it and how long ago it had been seen before. The simple fact is that this option has always been there, and it is only now that teams are beginning to explore this option in mass numbers. And it will only continue to grow.
I have often written about how the position will look like in the future and the combination of how these type of goalkeepers play is only the start of what I am predicting. Do not be in any way surprised when we see a rise in the number of goalkeepers that are comfortable with being in possession of the ball, regularly carrying the ball out of defence but also regularly being found in the attacking third of the field either on the ball or as a support player.
If any coach is going to allow their goalkeeper to do this, then you will of course have an expectation that they are able to take a score. With more and more goalkeepers venturing further up field, there will be more and more goalkeepers that will become scorers in open play also including goals against their opposing ‘keeper.
With goalkeepers venturing into the opposing team’s half more regularly, more energy will be placed on strategies to cover the goalkeeper while they have vacated their crease. One strategy you may begin to see is having the full-back line drop into the goal until the goalkeeper can get back and relieve them to resume their defensive duties.
For this to be as effective as possible it will be prudent to have the full-back line complete specific goalkeeping training on a regular basis. The training they may receive would be specifically one v one training, effective communication, correct diving technique as well as tactical awareness, game commentary and pattern recognition which will although to protect the goal more efficiently.
The goalkeeper will, of course, try and return to their goal as quickly as possible but in instances where they get involved within the play they will need to have trained in the necessary skills to perform their defensive duties. As players drop back to cover the goalkeeper’s advance, the ‘keeper may need to perform marking duties or fulfil a defensive role until a break in play allows them to return to their goal.
There is no doubt that the array of abilities that a goalkeeper is expected to perform during a game has risen rapidly over the past 20 years. I predict that, over the next 20 years, the expectations placed upon the goalkeeping position will evolve even further. We may reach the point where, ‘keepers will require further abilities or to retrain ones they didn’t use as much before. The signs are there for the evolution of the position and for me as both a player and a coach I find it an exciting time to be able to try and contribute to this progression. The Future Is Now… Forget The Past!
Email: pmgoalkeeping@hotmail.com
Facebook: @MSoG11
Twitter: @MorSchGk
Receive quality journalism wherever you are, on any device. Keep up to date from the comfort of your own home with a digital subscription.
Any time | Any place | Anywhere