James Horan: Why do teams hand momentum to the opposition?
BIG MO: James Horan during his second stint as Mayo manager. Pic: Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
During his two reigns as Mayo manager, James Horan often referenced the importance of the ‘momentum’. For him, a clear understanding of it is vital for success in Gaelic football.
Speaking on the Irish Examiner’s Gaelic football podcast, the former Mayo player and manager discussed the longstanding debate in sports like American football around momentum. There is a cohort who believe it is a myth and without clearly defined terms.
“The events that occur, the actions and behaviours that can create that momentum or rob it off another team, I think it has huge impacts on sport in general,” said Horan.
“I did a bit of looking at this. There are a lot of studies out there that say there is no such thing as momentum. I thought it would be clearcut. There are events that happen in games, whatever it is, that can swing momentum.
“Someone does something or doesn’t do something, a team or person is looking at it differently. Away it can go, it can spark.
"Ballintubber last weekend were four points up and made a decision to go slightly more defensive and hold possession more. Therefore, be less of a threat, change the dynamics of the game, their motivation was different. That gives Castlebar more innovation and more space to create attacks from deep.”
In 2021, Horan’s Mayo overcame Dublin 0-17 to 0-14 in the All-Ireland semi-final at Croke Park. There were several key moments that changed the flow of that game, including Diarmuid O’Connor’s stunning block to volley the ball back into play. Mayo were 0-12 to 0-7 down at the time. That move ended in a Kevin McLoughlin score and kickstarted a run of three points in a row.
“They started making more mistakes. We were getting more possession and on more ball. A couple of events happened, powerful runs, turnovers, some of Tommy’s runs. They generated energy and momentum. We were gaining and Dublin were losing that energy. As that game went on, we were on the increase. It is a fascinating area.
“A lot of the sport psychologists teams have in, it is all about how you react when anxiety kicks in or momentum changes. How do you adapt? There is a huge amount to it. If things are going against you, what do you do? If things are going for you as well. What do you keep doing?”
Increasingly teams are getting better at utilising momentum killers, deliberate breaks in play or stoppages to stem the tide. Horan suggested occasionally teams can provide their opposition with momentum by changing their approach.
“Sometimes when you are ahead teams suddenly change the dynamics, they go ultra-defensive. When you think about it, it changes everything about what they were doing, their mind frame, the stress the opposition are under. With the best will in the world, you could be giving momentum to the opposition.”
