Positives in Final Defeat

"There’s different types of defeats. Leagues are not bad defeats. Because our games are about championship football."

So, it wasn't a bad defeat then... it's hard to argue with Damian Cassidy's post-match assessment. For the majority of this game, Derry had Kerry well within their sights, but just didn't display the edge, urgency or intensity in their game to go on and ensure they would lift the New Ireland trophy for the second successive year. Kerry cantered over the finishing line.

No harm done.

A low-key, subdued final in the end. It wasn't like this a year ago in the tight confines of Parnell Park, but in a three-quarters empty Croke Park yesterday, the best team won. Not only over the 70 minutes in the Final, but over the whole of the league campaign, Kerry were deserved victors.

This was anything but a 'do or die' battle. The game lacked a championship intensity, the cut and thrust of summer football. Both Cassidy and his counterpart Jack O'Connor have been preaching - to anyone who cared to listen - about how teams are judged on championship success. League football is just a prelude. Yesterday, they were true to their word.

Despite defeat, the Derry management team will be happy enough with how their team performed. Missing a host of regular starters, they coped well with a seemingly ever-expanding Kerry attacking threat. Cassidy was philosophical in defeat:

"The game itself when you come to Croke Park and play in a league final you want to win it but from the outset I was clear about what we needed to achieve. To get here was a bonus. The game was there for us to push on, certainly in the second half. If we had got ourselves a point ahead in the middle of the second half it would have created an opportunity to push on. In terms of the overall campaign we have been quite successful."

Kerry, for their part, will be pleased that they won the game in a comfortable enough manner, without having to push into the high gears and Jack O'Connor feels that there is much more to come from his side:

"It is good to win matches where you don’t play very well. What am I most pleased about? Winning the game without emptying the tank. I think there might be a bit more in us. I thought we played good football during the league. We came up here, we go home with a win."

The Oaklfeafers started off brightly, early points from Paddy Bradley and Chrissy McKaigue gave them an early lead. Indeed it looked like the threat of the two Bradleys and Mark Lynch would provide Derry with a match-winning formula.

Then came the game's defining score however; Kerry's first of the match. It proved to be their most important. Donnacha Walsh cashed in on a high catch and quick lay-off from the giant Michael Quirke to calmly slot the ball to the net.

The score ushered echoes of last year's decider. But a similar outcome never materialised. Kerry couldn't pull away, yet Derry couldn't overtake them.

The injury suffered to Paddy Bradley during the first-half meant that the Glenullin man would require substituting. It took the spring out of what had been a lively Derry attack, yet Derry continued to impress in the opening period. They were picking up the majority of breaks in midfield and Eoin Bradley and Mark Lynch continued to put Kerry on the back-foot.

Kevin McCloy was impressively winning his duel with Kieran Donaghy, while Sean Leo McGoldrick and Enda Lynn drove forward at every opportunity. Despite all this, the Oakleafers found themselves a point down at the break. This could be attributed to two things. 1) some wayward Derry shooting; 2) the influence of Tommy Walsh.

It would be an understatement to suggest that the big Kerry forward was proving to be a handful with Kevin McGuckin and McCloy both trying in vain to curtail his dominance. The 20-year old was the recipient of last year's Young Footballer of the Year award, and if he carries this form into the summer more accolades will come his way. Walsh plundered two points, but it was his ability to win possession, draw frees, and set up scores that made him the obvious choice for yesterday's man of the match.

Derry's challenge faltered in the second half, though it never looked like fading out of sight either. Kerry demonstrated their wealth of talent by bringing on Dara Ó Sé, Tadgh Kennelly and David Moran, and they began to dominate the midfield exchanges. The supply to the Derry forward line dried up, leaving Mark Lynch to keep them in touch with some accurate free-taking. However, Kerry always seemed able to break forward at will to reply with a score of their own. Derry couldn't achieve parity.

Jack O'Connor managed to sum this up perfectly:

"We hung in there, I don’t think we played exceptionally well, but any time Derry came back into it we pulled away."

With four weeks to go before their championship campaign opens against Monaghan, Derry will have to look at how they once again failed to penetrate their attack against top-class opposition. They struggled to link effectively between defence and attack, repeating the problems shown against Kerry in Bellaghy last month. There were large gaps in front of the Derry full-foward line, as the half-forwards struggled against a very strong Kerry half-back line. Paul Murphy and Brian Mullan couldn't get on the ball enough to effect the game.

The goal required to win the match never came and it never looked like coming; Kerry goalkeeper Diarmuid Murphy strolled off the field untested. Against Dublin at Parnell Park, Derry could have scored four goals, but since then, that incisive nature has been missing from the Derry attack. They are not as fluid or as pacy. Kerry squeezed them out. But there's something for the training pitch in the next few weeks!

We must remember also that Derry were missing men like Enda Muldoon, Niall McCusker and Barry McGoldrick yesterday (not to mention Lockhart, Cartin and Patsy Bradley). These men have had excellent league campaigns, and their absence had an effect. When considering this backdrop going up against the best team in the country, yesterday's performance can be viewed as a positive one.

Damian Cassidy was keen though to stress how positive the whole NFL campaign has been for his side in his first season in charge:

"The positive is we got to a final with so many new players in the panel. We introduced nine new players, used 31 players in the league and I feel our position has been very much validated. We received a number of injuries over the last couple of weeks. I don’t know if we had been in this position last year could we have coped with that many injuries. That haunted us in the championship last year."

There's that word 'championship' again. Now is when the preparations will start in earnest. But they had already started in the damp squib that was yesterday's league decider and the Derry management will have learned a lot from yesterday's game. Further options were looked at all over the pitch (against formidable opposition), and some key areas will need worked on. Derry showed signs of a team that are ready to take the next step but Cassidy knows that only summer success will prove it:

"The question is: 'Do we think we are good enough to push on and be here in August and September?' The answers have to be provided later in the year. But is the quality there? I think it is."

Time will tell...

DERRY : B Gillis; K McGuckin, K McCloy, G O’Kane; C McKaigue (0-1) , B McGuigan, SL McGoldrick; F Doherty, J Diver; E Lynn (0-1), P Murphy (0-1) , B Mullan; E Bradley (0-4, one free), P Bradley (0-2, one free), M Lynch (0-4, three frees). Subs: J Kielt (0-1, free) for P Bradley (23 mins), P Bradley for Mullan (39 mins), D McBride for O’Kane (47 mins), S Bradley (0-1) for Murphy (49 mins), R Dillon for McBride (yellow card, 69 mins).

Final is Just the Beginning

The following is the Derry team to face Kerry in the NFL Division 1 Final at Croke Park on Sunday: B Gillis, K McGuckin, K McCloy, G O'Kane, C McKaigue, B McGuigan, SL McGoldrick, F Doherty, J Diver, E Lynn, P Murphy, B Mullan, E Bradley, Paddy Bradley, M Lynch

Whatever has been said about the importance of this Sunday's NFL Final, it at least offers us a glimpse as to what Damian Cassidy feels his best Derry team is. With injuries to Fergal Doherty, Sean Martin Lockhart, Patsy Bradley and Barry McGoldrick and the unfortunate absence of Niall McCusker, the selection has been impaired; but it could be viewed as what Cassidy sees as the strongest side at his disposal.

It seems that he feels Enda Lynn and Brian Mullan are his best options at wing-forward and that a fit Mark Lynch is the preferred option to play alongside the Bradleys in the forward line. Chris McKaigue will get his chance at right half-back.

But missing so many players - mostly almost-certain starters at that - leaves a hole in any team selection, and presents a blow to Derry's hopes of successfully defending their NFL crown. The late injury to Barry McGoldrick poses particular problems. He has fitted well into the centre half-back role, and Derry will now look to Barry McGuigan to cover this position.

Ironically, the Slaughtneil man started the NFL campaign at centre-back against Mayo, and proved his versatility by playing in the forward line in latter games - scoring two points against Dublin.

In the midst of these injury problems the silver lining is provided by the fact that the Derry management will get the ideal chance to assess further options one more time before the season starts in earnest.

Assistant manager Kevin Madden is keen for each player to take their chance:

"When a door closes for somebody, it opens for somebody else. If those players were playing, certain players wouldn't be getting an opportunity. So it's a chance for those players to send out the message that they are capable of playing championship football, and no better team to test them against than Kerry."

And that is the beauty of this Final. It allows a young, progressing Oakleaf side to face the best team in country (currently) on the greatest stage of all. It may 'only' be an NFL decider - there are loftier ambitions for later in the summer - but playing Kerry in Croke Park is ideal championship preparation.

Derry suffered a two point defeat to the Kingdom in March, and Damian Cassidy is well aware that they present a massive test for his side:

"We lost to Kerry and Tyrone in the League, so we know how much work has to be done. We'll know more about where we stand after Sunday. There's no better way to find out than playing Kerry in a final in Croke Park."

Derry's league ambitions have been well documented, and whether a win on Sunday is secured or not, we won't find out how great a success this NFL campaign has been until they play their final game in the summer.

The fact that Derry have reached the final by playing experimental sides throughout the group stage certainly proves that the Oakleafers are progressing in terms of squad strength and competitiveness, something that has been lacking in previous years. Kevin Madden has been happy with the side's progress so far this season:

"We set out to use the league as an opportunity to develop a squad and a competitiveness within the squad, that nobody would be sure of their place and there would be competition in, if not every position of the field, every line on the field, and certainly we've done that. We want this game to bring us on a step further and we want a performance from the players that will indicate we're one step closer to being ready for championship football on May 24."

But what of Sunday's game? There has been much talk about Kerry providing a huge test, but this isn't lip-service. Make no mistake, this will be Derry's toughest game of the year so far, and a weakened side might struggle against a Kerry team who have one or two points to prove this season.

Jack O'Connor has a number of wrongs to right. Three final defeats in 2008 were hard for the Kerry players and fans to stomach. While his side's season won't hinge on National League success, it represents the first step on the road to redemption.

So, Derry will face a determined Kerry side. We saw signs of it at Bellaghy when they overcame an early four-point deficit to record a comfortable two-point victory.

Overall, Derry played poorly in that game. They failed to penetrate the Kerry defence, and the system of play Damian Cassidy has been trying to implement withered in the bitter wind and rain. When Eoin Bradley saw the line after a yellow card, Derry lost all ball-winning ability up front, and only frees kept them in touch.

But it was the application of strong Kerry pressure, composure on the ball, and the ability to squeeze Derry's attacks before they had even started, that was the downfall of the Oakleafers that day.

Have the lessons been learned? Sunday will tell us a lot.

Derry have a stronger forward line available, with Paddy and Eoin Bradley joined by Mark Lynch. These are forwards with the power and pace to win their own ball, and the accuracy to take their scores. A relatively depleted Kerry defence will be tested.

It may not be enough to win the game however. Derry have defensive difficulties of their own, and with Colm Cooper fit to start for the Kingdom, they have more than enough firepower up front to do serious damage. Kieran Donaghy will renew acquaintances with Kevin McCloy, while Tommy Walsh and Darren O'Sullivan contain their own differing threats.

Keeping so many Kerry factions quiet looks like a difficult task for this Derry side, while they must try to rack up a decent score of their own. This seems more difficult by virtue of Derry's current goal drought. Not since Eoghan Brown's goal against Westmeath have the Oakleafers raised a green flag. That's five games without a goal. That's a worry.

It is a sign that Derry are failing to create room for attacking runners from deep. The hope is that the likes of Joe Diver and Enda Lynn can cut through the middle on Sunday (just like Fergal Doherty did in Parnell Park last year) as it seems inevitable that Derry will need to hit the net to win this game.

So, it's a reasonably pessimistic outlook as the final draws nearer, but we know in Derry, more than most, that League success is not critical. Cassidy is well aware:

"There is plenty of evidence to suggest that when Derry do well in the National League, they look forward to quite a short summer but that is my job, to try and crack that mentality. We have to ensure we have a group of players that understand championship is the be all and end all. You can't live in the past, with what's happened with other players and other teams."

Derry may fall short on Sunday, but the game will be extremely beneficial either way. Monaghan looms in just four week's time and the NFL Final will provide us with an indication of how well Derry are prepared for Championship action. As the manager says, there's no better way to find out than playing Kerry in a final in Croke Park.

Kerry Send Mixed Signals

In this week's edition of the Kerryman there is, unsurprisingly, some coverage devoted to this weekend's National Football League Division 1 Final between Kerry and Derry.

In an article relating to picking Kerry's 24-man squad for the game, team selector Ger O'Keefe explains how he feels his side won't get it easy against the Oakleafers:

"I can tell you first of all that Kerry aren't going to win this game handy because Derry have proven themselves to be a very good side. We beat them narrowly up in Derry earlier in the year but they were missing Paddy Bradley and Mark Lynch and had Eoin Bradley sent off on an early yellow card."

The former Kingdom player then infers that Kerry need to test themselves against Ulster opposition:

"Derry will provide stiff opposition on Sunday but that's where Kerry want to be. It's good for us to be playing those type of teams from the North."

So, it comes as a surprise to hear Jack O'Connor distance himself from any issue with Ulster teams, in an Irish Independent article today that refers to Kerry's previous troubles with teams from the northern province:

"I don't want to get caught up in this Ulster thing -- we want to win every game, whoever we're playing against."

It looks like O'Connor and O'Keefe are singing from slightly different hymnsheets. Or is the famed Kerry "cuteness" only visible in the national media?

Either way, the Kerry boss will hope that his chorus-line are note perfect on Sunday; else, "this Ulster thing" might be a bigger problem than he thinks.

Fifty Years in the Making

Cast your minds back fifty years people. Okay, so a few of us blog-reading folk might not be able to stretch it quite that far, but some of you might just manage it.

Buddy Holly (having died only weeks earlier) and Elvis Presley were fighting it out at the top of the charts, while Kerry and Derry were about to do battle in their first NFL Final meeting. Yes, you read correctly... these NFL Finals between the Oakleafers and the Kingdom also existed in 1959.

Derry were fresh from defeating Kerry in the 1958 All-Ireland semi-final, while Kerry, God love them, had yet to win their 19th All-Ireland title.

There was no M1 motorway in those days, and there is no record of reduced ticket prices for the final, but 32,405 fans witnessed Derry suffer a three point defeat (2-8 to 1-8).

Disappointing I'm sure it was. But things got even worse two years later when the sides met again in the NFL decider. 151 less people turned up at Croke Park than in 1959, but I'm reliably informed that (the great) Mick O'Connell ran the show for the Kingdom from midfield as his side romped to a 20 (twenty) point victory (4-15 to 1-6).

By this stage, Elvis was busy moaning about a wooden heart, but you can bet the Derry players felt a whole lot worse.

Last year (that's 2008 folks), barely 10'000 fans managed to drag themselves to Parnell Park to witness the third NFL Final between the sides. It's been swiftly granted 'classic' status in Derry, as the Oakleafers fought back from a 2-4 to 0-3 deficit after 25 minutes to win by four points (2-13 to 2-09).

It made up for those defeats in '59 and '61, but as Kerry speak of revenge this week in order to gain motivation, it appears that Derry could do with another win themselves to help balance things a little more evenly.

Is a twenty point victory too much to ask?

Goodbye Yellow Card Road

It was originally billed as the directive that would remove the 'culture of indiscipline' from our games, but during Saturday's GAA Congress in Cork, the new disciplinary rules trialled during the National Leagues were rejected by a slender margin of eight votes. For the time being, the sight of a yellow card will not mean instant removal from the field of play, and the new four-tier fouling category will not be in evidence during this year's championship.

Congress actually voted in favour of the new rules by 177 to 100 (almost 64%), but it failed to reach the elusive two-thirds majority mark. All this means is that in the world of GAA, minority rules (and the need to change the ruling to allow for only a simple majority is probably worthy of a separate debate)...

But what a high-profile minority it is.

And it was possibly the vociferous nature of these soap-box exponents that helped see the change hit the shelf (for this season anyway). High-profile, successful managers like Brian Cody, Mickey Harte and Jack O'Connor made their feelings known in the week leading up to Congress, urging delegates to vote No. As did the majority of GPA members.

It's easy to view the 'No Camp' as having its roots in the elite playing and managing sector of the GAA - but are these not the people (as well as Club players up and down the country) likely to be most affected by any rule changes? Players can be forgiven for not wanting to be sent to the line in a Championship match for a foul that the referee has full power to view as 'disruptive'.

Men like Liam O'Neill (disciplinary task force Chairman) do little to stamp out the age-old stereotype of suited men trying to lay down the law to the people who actually play and know the game. And there were plenty like him at the Rochestown Hotel in Cork last weekend - which helps to explain why the motion came so close to being carried.

The new directive had its merits. The four categories of fouling is a necessary way to clarify ever-blurring refereeing lines, but to send someone from the field of play for a yellow card offence, is too harsh a punishment to ensure the so-called 'highly-disruptive' fouls are eradicated from football and hurling.

Inter-county sides would be able to cope with such seemingly random changes in team personnel during a game, but one can only imagine that this system would be a disaster at club level, especially in lower divsions where squads are smaller, and the quality of refereeing poorer.

Yellow is the universal colour of caution. One more chance. It should remain so. If a foul is so harsh as to warrant the removal of a player from the field of action, then it should be accompanied by a red card. The rules should be clear as to what this should and should not entail; kneeing an opponent on the ground for example, or kneeing a player between the legs. Such actions should receive appropriate punishment.

Perhaps this is the value of the exercise. Mickey Harte has repeated his thoughts on how he sees the experiment as necessary to allow a healthy debate on an important topic, and the ball is now in the hands of the power-makers to refine their vision for change.

We all want to see cyncial and blatant fouling removed from football and hurling fields, but the GAA will have to produce a formula that allows this to happen in a more consistent and coherent way. Maybe then, the people that actually play our games will be in a position to say yes.

Tribesmen Lose Their Way

What a difference a few weeks make.

In one of my blogging efforts last month I noted how many so-called football experts were touting Galway as real All-Ireland contenders after their impressive win over Tyrone in Omagh.

A few weeks earlier I urged the Galway Advteriser to keep its feet on the ground after describing Galway's NFL victory over Dublin as "epic" and "lyrical". In other words, people appeared to be getting carried away with Galway's early promise.

These same people don't half go the other way when things suddenly turn sour. This week, Ray Silke in the Galway Advertiser described the Tribesmen as "miles off" after "being given a good auld trouncing and a lesson in how to play Gaelic football by Kerry", and losing a place in the NFL Final in the process:

"They were miles off the pace, their handling was abysmal, and an awful lot of hard work and some soul searching will have to be done between now and the championship if they are to retain the Connacht crown."

Galway have some exceptional players, especially in a very talented forward line, but it's at midfield where their biggest problems lie. A huge concession of possession in this sector has led to them losing points in their last three league games, and Silke is in total agreement:

"The management team will have to sit down and reassess their best options at midfield for the up-coming championship and perhaps even over the next few years. Because, let’s be honest here, the combinations they have been putting out have not been doing the business and their ball retention on the few occasions they got it the last day was atrocious."

While Galway have problems at midfield, Kerry have an abundance of options, and the The Kerryman was keen to point this out in its match report from Tralee:

"In came Anthony Maher and Micheál Quirke on Sunday with the pairing looking like they could hold their own against the best in the game such was their dominance. And even if those two were feeling contented at how well the game was going for them they were served a fresh reminder as to the task awaiting them when Darragh Ó Sé and David Moran came on to replace them midway through the second half."

Now that's luxury.

The same article seemed very happy with Kerry's all-round display as they setup an NFL rematch with Derry:

"Such was Kerry's hunger, such was their pace, such was their fitness and such was their class that they simply blew Liam Sammon's Galway away."

I'm not preaching caution to the Kerry pundits at this point, because I'd readily believe every word of that.

It appears that despite their apparent progression this season Galway still have their work cut out to stop Kerry in their tracks come the summer. But if the NFL campaign is anything close to being a trusty indicator then so does every other county!

League Final a Bonus

So, as it happens, the performances of experimental Derry teams (including at least five changes for every single game) have been good enough to land the Oakleafers their second successive NFL Final meeting with Kerry.

The Irish Times match report from Glen on Monday described qualification for the Final as "a timely bonus" for Derry. And despite having loftier ambitions for later in the year, Damian Cassidy seemed happy to find his side in a League decider:

“It’s something to look forward to, there’s nothing wrong with another game. We’ve done it without emptying the tank, we’ve used the league the way I felt we need to use it and here we are. The game is in two weeks’ time and it’s a good bridge in terms of closing the gap to May 24th.”

Most of the paper talk predictably focused on Derry's hope to manage league success a little better than last year. A Colm Keys article in today's Irish Independent features an interview with Mark Lynch who cautions against Derry losing their "championship focus":

"Last year it was nice to win and maybe we got carried away as it showed in our championship performances. This year we are just looking at every game. We were looking at our performance against Donegal and it was just a bonus that we got through to the final. We will just be looking for a good performance to see where we are really standing."

The same scribe pointed to Damian Cassidy's squad development for the championship, rather than focus on the Final meeting with Kerry, in his Derry v Donegal match report yesterday:

"Foremost is his desire to forge a belief among his players that they can survive without their inspirational midfielder Fergal Doherty and talismanic forward Paddy Bradley, something that hasn't been quite apparent in recent seasons. Both were injured yesterday -- Doherty for the third successive game -- yet they thrived"

A sobering reminder (if one was needed) about Derry's failure to capitalise on previous League victories is also provided:

"League successes in 1992, '95, '96, 2000 and 2008 have never led to anything more than a hollow feeling at what might and should have been. The perception that Derry lost their way after beating last year's All-Ireland champions still lingers."

The build-up to the NFL Final with Kerry starts now, but the minds of the manager, players and even the press, are very much focused on the Championship.

Derry Cruise Into Final

When the half-time whistle blew on Sunday at Glen, the writing was on the wall for Donegal. They trailed Derry by 0-6 to 0-5 at this point, despite the Oakleafers' failure to get out of second gear throughout the duration of the period.

By full-time, the four-point margin of victory was probably a fair one. And it signalled Derry's qualification for a second consecutive League Final, whilst consigning Donegal to Division 2. Victory for Derry was achieved with minimal fuss. They stepped things up a bit in the second period and secured the win thanks to an ability to play a more direct game, and produce scores whenever the chances came their way. Two points in the early part of the second period from James Kielt, and a point apiece from half-backs Brian Óg McAlary and Sean Leo McGoldrick, demonstrated Derry's more clinical attacking ability, and these scores seemed to do enough to keep the surprisingly weak Donegal challenge at bay.

Surprising because the Tír Chonail men usually provide Derry with a hard-fought derby contest, and also because of the (Division 1 retaining) prize on offer for John Joe Doherty's side.

Meanwhile, down in Tralee, Kerry were busy dismantling Galway's NFL challenge. The Kingdom's seven-point victory ensuring that Derry would qualify for the NFL Final ahead of the Tribesmen.

It had been the perfect Easter Sunday for Derry. And yet it seemed like something of an anti-climax. The Oakleaf faithful filed out of Watty Graham Park with little fanfare. Any latent joy at reaching the Final was supressed, if it existed at all. Perhaps the pointed feelings of Derry boss Damian Cassidy have filtered through to the Derry following. We want to be a successful championship team; the NFL is a secondary concern.

Or perhaps the Derry fans were subdued after watching a low-key game of football. The fare at Glen had been poor, very poor in places. Damian Cassidy will be happy his experimental side emerged with victory, in a reaonably convincing fashion, but he won't have been particularly pleased with his side's performance. A duel with Kerry in a fortnight's time has suddenly entered 'beneficial' territory. In February the prospect of a League Final might have seemed like a unnecessary April distraction, but the Derry management will now use it to iron out some positional issues, before the Monaghan game in May.

One positional question that had a possible answer attached to it on Sunday was that of the third member of the full-forward line. Coming back from a six-month layoff, Mark Lynch scored three excellent points. He looked lively and fresh, and looks increasingly likely to start against Monaghan in May alongside Paddy Bradley, and the continually impressive Eoin Bradley. Damian Cassidy was keen to praise the returning Banagher man:

"You could see early in the game that he was really fresh. Mark needed that break. He has been playing football and hurling for all sorts of teams since he was 16. It was the best thing that has happened to the lad, you could see the hunger in his game."

Lynch's two first-half points from play were the highlights of a pedestrian opening period. Derry struggled to move the ball at pace, and failed to pressurise Donegal in coming out of defence. There were few tackles, and little intensity. Brian Roper capitalised on the early space he was afforded by kicking two points, but this was about as much as Donegal could muster.

John Joe Doherty's side were every bit as listless in the second half as Derry opened up a five point cushion that provided the platform for victory. Damian Cassidy can't have been too happy with his charges at the interval, but he was pleased with a more assured second-half performance from his side:

“The most pleasing aspect of the game was our performance in the second half. We had to step it up because the first half wasn’t as competitive as you’d want it to be. I thought we responded well. We’d a number of established players that weren’t there and we coped admirably without them."

Those established players were, most notably, Fergal Doherty, Paddy Bradley and Niall McCusker. It is great testament to Derry's NFL approach this season, that Oakleaf fans were expecting their side to beat Donegal despite the absence of these men. This would have been unimaginable in the past few seasons, but Derry have qualified for another League Final by starting with experimental lineups featuring a host of new faces.

The well-broadcasted aim of the Derry management at the start of the year was to deepen squad strength ahead of the Championship, and it is fair to say this objective has been achieved. Derry strolled to victory against Donegal without Bradley, Doherty and McCusker (and without starting Sean Martin Lockhart, Paul Cartin and Paul Murphy), and by making eight changes to the side that started the previous game against Tyrone. Cassidy reiterates the point:

"The league to me was about developing our senior panel, about being able to interchange players so we knew that if we met any difficulties during the year we'd be able to deal with that."

Yet improvements will need to be made in the aftermath of this performance. The NFL Final provides a chance to add more silverware to the trophy cabinet, but it will also result in letting us know how far this new-look Derry side have really progressed so far this season.

DERRY: B Gillis; J Keenan, K McGuckin, G O'Kane; B Og McAlary (0-1), B McGoldrick (0-1), S L McGoldrick (0-1); P Bradley, E Muldoon (0-1); E Lynn (0-1), B Mullan, J Kielt (0-3); S Bradley (0-1), E Bradley (0-2), M Lynch (0-3). Subs: S M Lockhart for Keenan (47), P Cartin for McAlary (60), C McKaigue for Lynn (63), J Diver for Muldoon (71)

NFL Not Done Yet

The following is the Derry team to face Donegal in Easter Sunday's NFL encounter at Glen: B Gillis, J Keenan, K McGuckin, G O'Kane, B Og McAlary, B McGoldrick, SL McGoldrick, Patsy Bradley, E Muldoon, E Lynn, B Mullan, J Kielt, S Bradley, E Bradley, M Lynch

It seems appropriate that Damian Cassidy should select another experimental team for Derry's final Division 1 group game against Donegal. Experimentation has been the staple diet of the Oakleafer's 2009 campaign, and so it continues.

Despite only winning one out of four games in March, Derry are still in contention to successfully defend their NFL title. A win against Donegal at Glen, coupled with a Kerry victory over Galway is the bare minimum if Derry are to progress to an NFL Final rematch with the Kingdom. However, judging by his team selection for Sunday's game, it is unlikely that Cassidy will have a radio stuck to his ears sweating on news from Tralee.

The Oakleaf team shows eight changes from the side beaten in Omagh a fortnight ago. Brian Óg McAlary featured in Derry's earlier games in the corner back position (starting against Mayo and Westmeath; coming on as substitute against Galway), and this weekend he is given a chance to display his capabilities in the half-back line.

The half-back line has been Derry's most settled division throughout the league, and McAlary will replace the hitherto ever-present Paul Cartin, as the Derry management explore further options in this sector.

Joe Keenan gets his chance to impress at corner-back (in place of Sean Martin Lockhart); it will be the Magherafelt man's first outing of the campaign. He will play in front of his clubmate Barry Gillis who returns as goalkeeper, while Kevin McGuckin comes in at full-back to replace Kevin McCloy.

Seamus Bradley started in Ballina for Derry's opening game against Mayo, and the Ballinascreen forward has had to wait until the final game to get another chance. He will feature in a full-forward line missing the injured Paddy Bradley (hamstring), but including, for the first time this season, Mark Lynch. Lynch has been injured throughout the winter, but will feature against Donegal after playing for Banagher last weekend. His return comes as a boost to a Derry forward division that has lacked a cutting edge in recent games. Eoin Bradley continues at full-forward, and he will hope to rekindle the scoring form he displayed against Dublin.

Enda Lynn returns to the half-forward line following an ankle injury that kept him out of the games against Galway and Tyrone. Lynn impressed at Parnell Park in March, helping Derry cut open the Dublin defence on countless occasions.

He will be joined in the half-forward line by Brian Mullan (replacing Paul Murphy at centre-forward). The Glenullin man has shown great adaptibility this season, fitting naturally into Derry's system of play in the wing forward position. He will assume a different role in the centre on Sunday as Damian Cassidy continues to consider his options for the Monaghan game in May.

To that end, Patsy Bradley and Enda Muldoon will get another chance to provide Derry's midfield pairing. It has been a reasonably successful partnership in the previous two games (in the absence of Fergal Doherty), with Bradley's workrate complementing the attacking wisdom of Muldoon. Another good performance from these two can help propel Derry to victory against Donegal.

The Derry fans making the Easter Sunday trip to Glen will hope that aim can be achieved. If it is, there may still be a few disappointed faces if Galway get a result in Kerry, but League Final qualification is not the main objective for this Derry team. With the opening game in the Ulster Championship a short six weeks away, the Derry management will be more concerned about how the Derry players fit into the system of play, in what might be the final game before the Celtic Park clash with Monaghan.

Like most, if not all, Oakleaf fans I wish to see Derry spar with Kerry once again for a National title. And despite needing two games to go our way, it is an entirely plausible outcome. No doubt there will be constant updates from Tralee in the Watty Graham Park stands. Damian Cassidy might not appear to be as concerned, but he knows that a Final appearance with Kerry would provide his side with excellent championship preparation. Kerry stopped Derry in their tracks at Bellaghy in March, and another clash would help answer a few questions that might still linger, just one month away from the USFC.

Donegal have been below-par in this NFL campaign, and they will be fighting for Division 1 survival at Glen. Wins over Tyrone and Westmeath have given them that fighting chance, but I expect an eager Derry to claim the points. The impending Championship will be at the forefront of the Derry players minds, but you could forgive them for allowing those same minds to think about some early-season silverware. A win at Glen would at least make this a possibility.

Mickey Feeling Harte Done By

It may be Easter, but Tyrone manager Mickey Harte hasn't exactly been a happy bunny this week. Fresh from his latest failed disciplinary crusade (this time regarding the actions of Tommy McGuigan), Harte has now been left furious at the Ulster Council's decision to play the USFC first round clash between Tyrone and Armagh at Clones.

He has made it pretty clear in recent weeks that he wished for the game to be played in Croke Park, and in today's Irish News he lambasts the selection of the Ulster Venue.

"To say I am disappointed at the removal of our first round Ulster Championship game from Healy Park to Clones, is somewhat of an understatement.
The positive impact of such an event on the GAA in both counties, the province of Ulster and the Championship in general would have been immense. It is also a glorious opportunity for families to embrace the experience together in comfort and something that would not be possible if their team was lucky enough to be there later in the summer."

To say that the above reasons for playing the match at HQ are somewhat lightweight might also be classified as an understatement. Families embracing the experience in comfort? Seriously!

A stronger reason for moving this game to Dublin (although Harte hasn't used it in public) might be that Tyrone have an excellent record in Croke Park. Call me cynical, but their record at Healy Park has been less than impressive, and an early season game in Croker would suit them nicely.

At their home venue in Omagh, Tyrone lost an USFC opener to Derry in 2006, and drew with Down last year. Clones meanwhile is widely regarded as a "home" venue for Armagh, and they have been close to invincible there for ten years now. These are likely to be the real reasons why Harte was so vociferous about staging the game at Croke Park.

The Ulster Council justified the decision to move the game to Clones by citing its greater potential for attendance compared to Healy Park:

"The anticipated attendance is significantly in excess of the 18,500 all ticket capacity of Healy Park. St Tiernach's Park, Clones provides an all ticket capacity of 33,000. There will be up to 10,000 seated family tickets available for this fixture."

It's hard to disagree with the Ulster Council's decision. This is a first round Ulster Championship game after all, and hardly warrants the opening of what would be a half-empty Croke Park. Clones will have to do - as it has always done.

It looks like the Tyrone management and players might just have to wait until August before setting foot on the hallowed Jones' Road turf.