Paul Durcan is intrigued by the evolution in the goalkeeper’s role in the modern game. In goal for Donegal’s All-Ireland win in 2012 as well as Dublin club Ballyboden St Enda’s All-Ireland in 2016, he is now one of Tony McEntee’s selectors with Sligo.
The former All Star was speaking at a press call after the Electric Ireland Sigerson Cup final, a trophy that gave him back-to-back successes with IT Sligo in 2004 and ’05 and was won this year for the first time since 2003 by NUI Galway.
Asked about the contemporary trend for ’keepers to play more and more of an outfield role, he suggested that the type of player being deployed between the posts could change fundamentally but also said that he was in favour of the evolution.
“I like it. I don’t think I would have been up the field kicking points but it is evolving and it is going to be interesting to see what kind of player you are going to put in there. Are you going to need an outfield player? But you can’t forget either that it comes down to (the basics),” he said.
“Rory Beggan [Monaghan] is an exceptional shot-stopper – Niall Morgan [Tyrone] is the same. They have that basis and obviously they have the talent of being outfield players because they do that with their clubs.
“It is a hard thing to get and I don’t think it is something that you can coach into someone. When you get a very good outfield player, it is very hard to put them into goals and get them as a shot-stopper.
“It is trying to find that happy medium is what you want, no matter who the goalkeeper is, he is going to have to be a link man in defence with teams, pushing up in numbers now. You are going to have to evolve and I think that is going to be the next phase, playing as an extra full-back player for moving the ball across.”
In the recent league match between Tyrone and Monaghan, the two goalkeepers could have been tackling each other such was the sense of adventure – Beggan actually kicked a point from play.
Durcan urged caution, though, and said that going long and creating pressure at the other end of the field should still remain an option.
“For a goalkeeper to come out and defend or mark a corner forward, they need to be exceptionally quick and need to be an exceptional man-marker. Obviously possession is key, but we still need to look long. You can see when teams go long and get breaks off it, maybe eight out of ten of them work out in a goal opportunity, so that can’t be forgotten.
“I don’t think they’ll become total outfield players but there will be an evolution to become a link-man on the defence and probably guys able to mark people will do that. Finding those players won’t be easy as finding goalkeepers.”
