Glen booked their place in a first ever All-Ireland club final this afternoon, overcoming Galway champions Moycullen in a close contest at Croke Park.
It was a tense game, although the Derry club would ultimately emerge victorious on a scoreline of 1-11 to 0-12.
This goal from from Tiarnan Flanagan ultimately proved to be the difference between the sides.
31 nóim@WattyGrahamsGAA 1-06
@maighcuilinn 0-04
Cúl lua sa dara leath tuillte ag an Ghleann!
Tiarnan Flanagan kicks off the second half with an early goal for the Glen!👌
#GAABEO #TheToughest @GAA_BEO | @officialgaa | @AIB_GAA
BEO/LIVE AR @TG4TV pic.twitter.com/9Wku2fdrKx— Spórt TG4 (@SportTG4) January 8, 2023
It was an intriguing game, even if not necessarily the most exciting. That is perhaps understandable considering what was at stake on the day.
However, not all those in attendance in Croke Park were impressed with the spectacle on show.
Joe Brolly not impressed with Glen vs Moycullen action
Joe Brolly was at the two All-Ireland semi-finals at GAA HQ this afternoon and it's fair to say that he wasn't exactly enamoured with the product on offer.
In the first game, he was not happy with the cynical fouling from Kilmacud Crokes in their win over Kerins O'Rahilly's.
Constant cynical fouling by @KCrokesGAAClub maddening to watch.
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) January 8, 2023
When it came to the second game, it was the defensive tactics and lack of adventure on show from both teams that he had an issue with.
Brolly first took to Twitter to share a clip of Glen's blanket defence, saying that the crowd was quickly growing bored due to the lack of attacking action on the pitch.
Terribly boring match. GAA Rules Committee has done nothing to prevent teams destroying the spectacle. Sweepers must be banned. pic.twitter.com/2k2FJqUUnm
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) January 8, 2023
This has been going on now for a while, people just chatting amongst themselves.
This is modern football and the GAA rules committee is refusing to do anything about it. It's very exciting.
Brolly has long been calling for the GAA to take action in order to stamp out defensive tactics such as this one.
Soon after, he shared a clip of a similar setup from the Moycullen defence, with the attacking team also seemingly happy to pass the ball around without any intention of going for a score.
Nothing happening in the other half of the field either. Yawn. pic.twitter.com/aat5z6RuYf
— Joe Brolly (@JoeBrolly1993) January 8, 2023
Nothing has been happening, but now we're looking at the other side of the pitch.
Again, the crowd are chatting among themselves and there's nothing happening.
The sweepers are in obviously. It's almost time to go for a nap here. Wonderful.
The GAA have made numerous rule changes in recent years, although few of them have made much of an impact in discouraging blanket defences.
Joe Brolly himself has suggested a number of possible alterations, including banning sweepers and not allowing the ball to be kicked back into the attacking team's own half.
SEE ALSO: Kilmacud Crokes Manager Not Happy With Referee Despite All-Ireland Semi-Final Win
