Bradley Skins Dubs

It's hardly an exaggeration to say that Derry could have won this game by a lot more than a mere five points. Somewhere in the region of 10-15 points may have been more accurate, but the last thing you need to do in the middle of March is fix a huge spotlight on yourself by beating the Dubs by fifteen points. Just knowing that it could have been more will do the job nicely.

And a nice victory it was too. Derry did their main damage in the second half, opening up a 0-19 to 0-10 lead with eight minutes remaining. They gave Dublin a masterclass in point-taking and could have added two or three goals to beef up the winning total.

Damian Cassidy appeared content after the game despite the fact that his side could have won by more:

"It was a good performance. We missed a couple of goal chances in the first half and a couple in the second half, so we could have punished them a bit more, but we came down for two league points and we got them."

Eoin Bradley was instrumental in the second period (finishing with a tally of 0-6). His two sideline kicks bordered on preposterous, and he added a free after this from fully fifty yards. These types of scores were symbolic of the confidence running through the Derry side, and they knocked the stuffing out of a Dublin team that had competed well in the first half. They totally lost their way after the break as Derry dominated proceedings with a mix of pace, accurate passing and clinical scoring. Enda Lynn was a constant thorn in the Metropolitan's side, running from deep to set up scoring chances. Dublin had no answer.

The changes in the side from the Kerry game worked well for Derry. Paul Murphy was excellent in winning possession and he kicked three points from play. His accuracy from the '40 is a valuable asset, and his ball-winning ability adds support to the midfield sector. Barry McGuigan - playing in a forward role - provided a constant outlet in attack, and he fully deserved his two points.

When the Derry team was named on Thursday night it was obvious that Damian Cassidy was keen the redress the key problems from the Kerry game. He admitted this after Saturday night's victory:

"We looked at the areas where we were struggling last week and we concentrated on trying to bring the difference tonight to those areas and that's what we tried to do."

In the first half the game threatened to turn into the Paddy Bradley v Bernard Brogan show. They exchanged points at either end, until Bradley (who had notched four points) was forced off due to mild concussion just before the break. Brogan was Dublin's key scoring threat, but he was fighting a lonely battle. Even the introduction of his brother Alan couldn't ignite a lacklustre Dublin team.

The only other bright point on a dark night for the Dubs was the performance of goalkeeper Stephen Cluxton. He made three superb saves that prevented a rampaging Derry from getting totally out of sight.

In the final quarter of the game, Derry had Fergal Doherty, Enda Muldoon and Paddy Bradley off the pitch. That the Oakleaf side could afford to rest such talent is an indication of the strength in depth building within the panel. However Cassidy was not be pleased at how Derry seemed to grow complacent in the final stages, allowing Dublin in for a flurry of late scores, including a goal from Ger Brennan.

"It was ridiculous what was going on the last five or six minutes. Players had taken the foot off the pedal, the concentration had gone. All it takes is for one or two players to do that and it spreads like wildfire throughout the team. That's something that has to be addressed. That nonsense cannot be accepted."

Cassidy was probably happy that he had reason to berate his players after what had been a near-total performance. March. Feet on the gound. An NFL victory. Nothing more. Deep down though he will be delighted at how his side have progressed so far this season; his Dublin counterpart certainly believes Derry are looking the part:

"Derry were very good. I'd say they were without doubt the strongest team we played so far in terms of performance. They worked so hard all over the pitch. They did a lot of things that we would like to be doing and they were clinical up front."

If Derry were very good then Dublin were very bad. And this fact must be remembered in the aftermath of this game. Their defence has looked shaky all season, and they continued this trend on Saturday night. They showed little fight for the midfield battle, and their heads weren't slowing in going down as Derry turned the screw in the second half. On top of all this, it was the basics that let them down - poor passing, poor handling, poor kicking.

The Oakleaf following will have headed North on Saturday night a happy bunch; but there have been too many stings in recent years to get carried away. Galway will visit Derry this coming Sunday as joint leaders (along with Kerry) at the top of Division 1. The Kingdom provided Derry with a stern examination last Sunday, and the Tribesmen are taken to do likewise this week. Parnell Park will be a distant memory by then.

DERRY: J Deighan; K McGuckian, N McCusker, S M Lockhart; P Cartin, B McGoldrick (0-1), S L McGoldrick; F Doherty, E Muldoon (0-3, one free, two 45s); E Lynn, P Murphy (0-3), B Mullan (0-1); Paddy Bradley (0-4, three frees), E Bradley (0-6 two frees, two sidelines), B McGuigan (0-2). Subs: Paul Bradley for Paddy Bradley (33 mins), G O’Kane for Cartin (ht), J Diver for Muldoon (46 mins), Patsy Bradley for Doherty (54 mins), E Brown for Murphy (55 mins, yellow)