Caoimhin Kelleher: Goalkeepers could do with a bit of help from referees | OneFootball

Looking back now, Caoimhin Kelleher can see he put the ball in exactly the spot a goalkeeper would have most problems with; not knowing whether to stay or go.

Maybe that was instinct. Maybe it was fate. In the moment - which Kelleher now describes as his greatest in football - the 27-year-old admits there was certainly no calculation to it.

It was the 95th minute of Ireland’s final World Cup qualifying group game and, at 2-2 against Hungary, they needed a goal; any goal. Kelleher had been running up the Puskas Arena pitch to just try and get in the area in classic fashion, when the ball came to him at the halfway line.

The goalkeeper ended up playing one of the most fateful passes in modern Irish football history, as well as one that produced a moment that enraptured the world.

“I was just thinking to get it in the box,” he says as he sits in Brentford’s Gtech Stadium. “You could see a cluster of players and you’re just trying to find an area for the lads to go and attack.

“Thankfully, they did!”

That’s saying something. With Hungarian number-one Denes Dibusz initially staying on line, Liam Scales rose authoritatively to knock down Kelleher’s ball, although still tantalisingly within reach of the goalkeeper’s grasp.

“Then, Troy did well to reach and finish… you know.”

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Troy Parrott’s last-gasp goal in Hungary kept the Republic of Ireland’s World Cup hopes alive (REUTERS)

Kelleher, a markedly relaxed character as he speaks, admits he didn’t then know what to do next. He just sprinted around in jubilation in a way he can never remember doing before.

The moment was a natural peak in what has been a sudden rise in Kelleher’s career. Long respected as Alisson’s understudy at Liverpool, the 27-year-old finally made the move for a first-team position in the summer. Kelleher specifically agreed to Brentford due to their “track record for developing players” and how they’re “a club with patience”.

That has been illustrated with how they’ve actually improved despite so much upheaval, not least a change in manager shortly after Kelleher arrived.

“Brentford is the sort of club that’s always prepared, and always looking to the next steps,” he says.

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Caoimhin Kelleher chose Brentford due to their ‘track record for developing players’ (Getty Images)

They arguably suit his personality, as Kelleher himself has duly developed into one of the most rounded goalkeepers in the Premier League: comfortable with his feet, strong with his hands.

Kelleher discusses how the latter has taken on a renewed importance, especially in a more aerial Premier League with so much set-piece rigour. Goalkeepers have to be physically imposing again.

“I think the game does evolve, and maybe goes around in a circle sometimes,” he says. “I’m just trying to be an all-round good goalkeeper, working on all aspects.

“Teams have obviously really improved in set-piece areas, so it’s definitely something you need to work on a bit more.

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Kelleher is one of the most rounded goalkeepers in the Premier League (Getty Images)

“You train trying to recreate some of the chaos you face.

“Teams are very smart now, getting certain blocks, contact in the area as well, which makes it more difficult for the goalkeeper. On a lot of set-pieces, you don’t even have a chance to catch it, you’re just trying to get the ball away.

“Set-pieces have evolved a lot more and obviously a key part of that is stopping a goalkeeper. You have to be active and affect the delivery. As goalkeepers, it is tough, we try work a bit more on that.”

And then a headline: “Maybe a bit of help from the referee could be good.”

Kelleher is talking about the new approach of marking goalkeepers to the extent of almost pinning them in.

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Kelleher says goalkeepers could do with help from the referee when they are crowded out by opposition players (Getty)

“Sometimes it can be frustration because, in the Premier League, there’s a lot more physicality than other competitions. You’re getting blocked when you’re trying to come out, maybe you feel it’s a foul, but in the Premier League you’re not going to get it. It’s an added difficulty.”

“You play in Europe and internationally, you probably do get more decisions, it’s less physical on the goalkeeper, in terms of what blocks you can do.”

That isn’t the only thing that’s changed of late. Kelleher points to how intense pressing has become.

“It’s not easy when a player’s running full speed at you and you need time to think, to pick out a pass. It’s a major part of being a goalkeeper these days.

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Kelleher highlights how intense pressing has become in the Premier League (Getty Images)

“At Brentford, we like to play with the ball. Central to that then is that, as a goalkeeper, you’re used as a spare man, you’re going to have to understand pressing systems from the outfielders, you’re going to have to understand where the free players are when the ball's at your feet, making decisions like that. Obviously that’s important for structure and how we move up the pitch.”

There is one element of the work at Brentford Kelleher is more reticent in discussing: his successful approach to penalties.

“Listen I don't want to give too much away, but I managed to save a few this season! But I don't want to speak too much!”

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Kelleher's penalty-saving record is the best in the league, stopping three of six this season (Getty Images)

It has all played its part in Brentford moving up the table. Another way that the move has worked for Kelleher has been how he knew Thomas Frank’s replacement, Keith Andrews, from working together with Ireland.

“The manager really buys into the whole mentality at this club,” he says. “Never be too up, never too down, always an even keel. If we’re doing well, we want to stay consistent and play well. On other hand, no panic, just need to knuckle down.

“The manager’s been massive in how close and tight-knit the group is. You can see how far it can take you when you get on the pitch.”

The move has also been important to Kelleher in a non-sporting way. He was close to Diogo Jota, and has been able to process the tragedy at more of a remove than his former Liverpool team-mates.

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Kelleher was close to Diogo Jota, who tragically passed last summer (PA Wire)

“Listen, from an individual aspect, for me to leave and play first-team football was obviously right, never mind the tragedy that happened. I stay in touch with some of the guys there, I have a lot of good friends there. It’s a very difficult time for them, a difficult season, with circumstances that people probably aren’t taking into account too much. But it’s probably been a bit easier for me, being away from it, and not being in such close proximity to it every day.

“I find it a bit strange and a bit difficult when I hear people speaking about the players at Liverpool and the performances, because I don’t think this season is even important from a football aspect for them to be honest. It’s more about them personally and mentally.

“Obviously, football is a massive sport and people have an opinion, which is natural. People expect you to move on quite quickly, and I don’t think that’s the case.”

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Kelleher has been able to process the loss of Jota away from the spotlight of his former Liverpool team-mates (Getty Images)

If such words only emphasise the triviality of the game next to real life, moments like what Kelleher enjoyed with Ireland remind what elevates life; why football matters within that; the joy that players like Jota gave.

“We all have a massive dream of bringing Ireland to a World Cup,” Kelleher says. “Like we showed in the Portugal game when the pressure was on and we needed a win, we got it. Hungary away, 2-1 down with 10 minutes to play, still believing and still thinking we’re going to get something, it shows the character and mentality of the whole group.

“I’ve always felt that spirit is there with the group.”