The composure in possession of the likes of Chrissy McKaigue was pivotal in Slaughtneil’s Ulster final win over Kilcoo

IN his weekly column, Steven Poacher sets out some of the best training exercises geared towards ball retention, acquisition and and transition play.

He believes Slaughtneil’s mastery in ‘resting on the ball’ in the final ten minutes was a crucial facet in their Ulster Senior Championship final win over Kilcoo.

He said: “By that [resting on the ball] I mean a lot of lateral possession with the purpose of controlling the pace of the game, taking the sting out of the game and tiring Kilcoo, not just physically but mentally as well. To do this, you need competent footballers that are comfortable on the ball and I thought Chrissy McKaigue was outstanding at this.”

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