More Ulster pain for Derry

Let's face it, it's what we do best. The annual (now biannual, thanks to the qualifier system) post-mortem following a Derry Championship defeat.

On Sunday against Armagh, the general apathy and air of low expectation that has gripped (or not) the county this season was vindicated, as a promising enough first-half performance petered out into disappointing defeat.

So what was the turning-point in the game? Eoin Bradley's sending-off, Gerard O'Kane's missed penalty? Not quite. It was actually Paddy Bradley's 30th minute goal. But, amazingly, it swung the match in Armagh's favour. How this happened is unclear, but it clicked the Orchard-men into gear and they went on to squeeze the life out of Derry's challenge.

Most media outlets appeared disappointed on the poor quality on display in Celtic Park. Like last year against Monaghan... what did they expect? Factor in a couple of baffling new technical rules, and a ridiculously fussy referee, what chance did the game stand?

The Southern hacks are usually the most critical of these Ulster games, but Colm Keys in the Irish Independent almost seemed sympathetic in summing up the shortcomings of the Oakleafers:

"Derry were a big disappointment, the biggest criticism being their pedestrian build-up to every attack. Could that apparent lack of urgency be taken as an absence of desire? They looked like a team that accepted their fate much too early and only the penalty reminded them that they were still in the frame.
The scars of five consecutive Ulster semi-final defeats to five different opponents has clearly taken its toll and the optimism surrounding Cassidy's appointment has evaporated for now."

Tom Humphries in the Irish Times reckons Derry might be safer taking the longer qualifier route:

"Derry have so much talent that it it going to take games on white-hot Sundays to make it all gel for them. They need the passion and the certainty and to find a way of playing that is an expression of their personality, not a contradiction of it."

Talent or not, Derry must start playing to their strengths, and this is something that Darragh Ó Sé (also writing in his Irish Times column) believes was lacking in their performance:

"Derry have good footballers, a midfield that is as good as what is in the country, a few very good forwards. And they are recycling everything? Passing it sideways? Why? Derry hardly kicked it at all. Armagh kicked the ball a little bit more and when they did it came off. They got the ball behind the Derry defence a couple of times. You could see the trouble coming when they did.
Derry had chances but they were too sluggish on the ball in the build-up. You have to get it out as fast as you can. Players and teams will still get bodies back but if you get the ball in faster and more accurately, the guys receiving it inside will do damage."

There's no doubt Damian Cassidy has a lot to think about. We can argue that the right players are there, but that's no good if they can't get the ball, or find the space in which to to do what they do best.

So, all in all, it adds up to more pessimism and disappoinment for Derry. But we're dab-hands at this craic. And there's one positive to take out of defeat.

Derry will have a full six weeks to prepare for the first qualifier game. In years gone by, the first back-door game would have come fast on the heels of the perennial Ulster semi-final defeat. With maybe only six days in between. This year is different, an even earlier Ulster exit than usual should allow the players to forget about the Armagh defeat, and refocus their thoughts and drive their energy towards the All-Ireland qualifiers. This past few years Derry have been guilty of concentrating solely on the first round in Ulster. Donegal in 2008 and Monaghan in 2009 are prime examples. We won - after months of preparation for a single game - but we couldn't adapt for the subsequent challenges.

We've been terrible in Ulster for the last 12 years so this is not new territory. No succesive Ulster Champioship victories in that time, so there was little chance of winning four matches. It may sound negative, but we may as well get out of Ulster now - thus avoiding another battle with Monaghan - and concentrate on the qualifiers. A new competition. The real Championship starts now.

The last time Derry were beaten in a preliminary round (a humiliating defeat to Tyrone in 2004), they had five weeks to prepare for the qualifiers. They were playing Kerry in an All-Ireland semi-final in late August.

Right now however, August seems a long way off...

Derry must do talking on the field

The following is the Derry team to play Cork in Saturday's NFL round 6 game at Celtic Park: B Gillis; M Craig, K McGuckin, D McBride; G O'Kane, B McGuigan, M Bateson; F Doherty, J Diver; E Bradley, B McGoldrick, C Kielt; J Kielt, P Bradley, M Lynch

There's been plenty of rumour this week about 'crisis meetings' and soul searching within the Derry squad. Players and management alike will have had their views to air, and in light of the Oakleafer's current form it's only to be expected. But at the end of a difficult week there's another match to play, and for it Damian Cassidy has - unsurprisingly - made another five changes to his Derry team.

Cork are the visitors to Celtic Park this weekend, and it is clear that Cassidy has been thinking heavily about how his side can stand up to the Rebel's strong, imposing, attacking gameplan when picking a defensive starting fifteen for this match.

Cork have looked excellent so far in this campaign. Their only blip came against Tyrone in Healy Park. But, quite frankly, the Rebels should have won that game easily. In fact, it looked like a mis-match at times, with three lucky goals helping Tyrone to snatch victory. Derry's form couldn't be any more stark. Four defeats in a row, and little to be positive about following a poor home performance against Mayo and a capitulation last Sunday at Monaghan. The Oakleafers have it all to do against Cork as they aim to somehow pull their heads above the relegation mire, and Cassidy's wholesale changes smack more of hope than expectation.

Barry McGoldrick and Charlie Kielt - both of whom started in the half-back line in Scotstown - move to the half-forward line. This is a move clearly designed to push Derry's defence high up the pitch with the express aim of keeping the attack-happy duo of Paudie Kissane and Michael Shields quiet. The launch pad for Cork's sometimes-devastating attacking play is generally their half-back line, and with Eoin Bradley named at right-half forward, the roving qualities of Noel O'Leary might also be restricted. Derry may be tempted to play McGoldrick or Kielt as extra defenders, but this may be counter-productive in giving Cork a licence to build freely from defence.

James Kielt moves to the full-forward line, where Derry will need to get more out of Mark Lynch and Paddy Bradley. Bradley is yet to find his form this season, while Lynch has also found the going difficult in this NFL campaign as he has flirted with various positions in both defence and attack. It may be time for Damian Cassidy to call him a corner-forward and leave it at that.

Joe Diver replaces Patsy Bradley at midfield. This is a clear indication that Cassidy's hopes for his side to match Cork at least a little in the physical stakes. Diver will also be expected to offer more in an attacking capacity from midfield than the Doherty/Bradley axis is capable of. But it will be a tough ask against Derk Kavanagh and Alan O'Connor in midfield.

In defence, Michael Bateson makes his debut. He is a strong runner, and will add a further physical presence to a half-back line that also contains Gerard O'Kane and Barry McGuigan. Mark Craig comes in at corner-back. This is the key unit for Derry. The defence has played below-par in the previous NFL games - even against forward lines (such as Monaghan and Mayo) that aren't renowned for high scoring performances. Conor Counihan's side will start without the obvious talents of Colm O'Neill, Donnacha O'Connor, Nicholas Murphy and Pearse O'Neill, but in Daniel Goulding, Paul Kerrigan and the hugely impressive Paddy Kelly, they have enough attacking talent to seriously trouble Derry. Cork have scored a grand total of 7-73 in only five games. It's hard to see another experimental Derry defensive unit containing the Rebels to a small enough tally that would illicit a victory.

Derry's form just hasn't been good enough to predict even a slender victory on Saturday night. The best expectation is that Derry will put in a performance that asks some questions of Cork, and that they display the desire and footballing quality that begins to resemble something approaching Championship form.

Depending on other results (i.e. the hope that Dublin beat Galway and Mayo beat Monaghan), a low-scoring defeat might still keep Derry's hopes of safety alive until the final game.

Feeling blue in Scotstown

Sometimes you find that you're repeating yourself. During last year's NFL campaign the watch-words were experimentation, tyring new players, increasing squad depth and, as the league approached its finale, the talk was of whether or not Derry could win two NFL titles in a row. These topics surfaced on a weekly basis.

Move forward twelve months and some topics are still appearing on a weekly basis, but none as positive as last year's. Instead we find ourselves lamenting one poor Derry performance after another and asking the same question: "where is it going wrong?".

It's tempting to say that the rot began straight after the win against Tyrone, but with extenuating circumstances surrounding the defeats to Dublin and Kerry, it seems the malaise kicked in the week leading up to the Mayo game. Two defeats had done nothing for the confidence ahead of an important home game, and form couldn't be switched on automatically. Derry would have to build it up over the course of the 70 minutes against Mayo. It didn't happen. The reason being that Mayo were flying, confidence high, and ready to rock from the first throw-in. A flat-footed Derry couldn't recover.

And worse yet, the campaign's seminal tie - against a hungry, sharp Monaghan side - was only seven days away. Last year, Derry spent all of the winter and all of the spring preparing - physically and mentally - to meet Monaghan's challenge in the Championship head-on. Derry obviously won out in the end (just about), but on their current form, a week was never going to be enough to provide the requisite challenge to take on and beat the Farney men. What followed was inevitable. The Oakleafers were shown up to lack the hunger, fight and determination that Monaghan possessed in spades. When Thomas Freeman's goal opened up a four-point lead mid-way through the first-half, there was only one likely winner. Derry couldn't respond and Monaghan's tails were up. Conor McManus was scoring at will, and Derry were totally dominated at midfield.

It's as disappointing as Derry have been in a long time, and it's been a while since they've trailed by eleven points in any game. Like last week against Mayo, the final scoreline flattered Derry. They were outplayed all over the pitch. The defence struggled against a lively attack, (although their cause was not helped by the quality of supply coming from Monaghan's midfield and half-back line). Derry's forwards had another day to forget, kicking wides and missing chances that nearly made the Kerry performance look prolific.

It's hard to fathom however, how Monaghan could look so good, while Derry looked inept and uninterested. Damian Cassidy must be scratching his head at the level of Derry's performances, but he would need to find a resolution sometime soon. Confidence is now at a seriously low ebb, and this coming Saturday Derry will face the country's in-form side, Cork. The Rebels have recently been installed as favourites for the All-Ireland, and now is not a good time for Derry to play them. Most of us would probably happily forego any chance of victory in the hope that Derry show significant improvement, and a determination and focus that will at least ask some questions of Cork. But it's hard to look forward to at this stage.

The good news is that we are still only in March, and there is time to rectify things before the Armagh game on May 16. But, as relegation becomes the increasingly likely scenario, it's surely the least desirable way of approaching the Championship.

Some other thoughts from Sunday's game:

• With Kevin McCloy and Michael McGoldrick injured, changes had to be made in defence; but the swapping and changing we have seen across the team in the past few games just hasn't worked.
• Barry McGoldrick had a difficult day in his first game back at centre-back. This position remains a problem one.
• Kevin McGuckin had his first start of the season also. Derry's third full-back in four games. Another problem position.
• Raymond Wilkinosn looked lively when he came on and should be a starter come May. But Cassidy needs to find the best place to play him. Here's a clue: it's not in the full-forward line.
• Barry Gillis (or Pascal McConnell as the announcer and match programme called him) had a good first half; wasn't much he could have done about Freeman's well-taken goal.
• Maybe the deployment of McManus in the full-forward line for the whole game threw Derry, but he's unlikely to amass ten points again in the foreseeable future.
• Michael Bateson played well when introduced - albeit he was given sufficient sapce to work in - and may be worth another look at wing-forward.
• Declan Mullan's stock is increasing by the week.
• Ladbrokes have installed Derry as 2/7 favourites for relegation. Sperrin Metal or Sperrin Galvanisers would never have done such a thing.
• What a terrible venue Scotstown is for an inter-county game. Younger readers: this is what grounds were like in the 1980s.

Frustration continues

A hugely frustrating evening at Celtic Park. At the start of the NFL campaign this would have been one of the games earmarked for a win and a vital two points, but defeat now leaves Derry entrenched in a relegation dogfight, and the manner of defeat does little to inpsire hope of safely coming out of it.

There was a lot wrong with the peformance, but the most disappointing aspect is that we've seen the same problems arise in the previous games against Dublin and they have not been addressed.

First things first - team selection. I was of the opinion heading into this match that if you're going to try out switches like Fergal Doherty at wing-forward and Paddy Bradley at centre-forward then a league game in March is the time to do it. It backfired. Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course, and I would imagine that Damian Cassidy will be rueing those selections today. This was a must-win game for Derry and playing two of your key men out of position totally ruined us in the first half. And it was an awful first half from Derry. Right up there with the second halves against Dublin and Kerry. Mayo really should have been out of sight.

The good news is that Fergal Doherty won't be tried here again, nor should Paddy Bradley, but you live and learn. Pity it's at the expense of two league points.

It was fairly obvious in Tralee last week that derry had a problem winning possession. Straight kick-outs down the middle of the field against a breeze played straight into Kerry's hands. Last night, Derry employed the same kickout strategy. Not once did a player come short for a kickout, and not once was any attempt made to get the ball moving quickly from restarts. Not once. When it's obvious Derry aren't winning enough ball at midfield. This is sorely frustrating, especially when the tactics of the opposition couldn't be any more different.

Time after time in the first half, Mayo had the ball kicked out before Derry realised it had even happened, and they were attacking the right wing solidly. Hitting Derry on counter attacks, letting the bal do the work. And they got a lot of joy with this tactic. It left the Derry full-back line exposed, and despite the fortuitous nature of Andy Moran's goal, Mayo's five-point lead at half-time almost flattered Derry.

Derry's forward line malfunctioned. The half-forward line was largely anonymous so there were no outlets in the wing positions. This meant the ball had to be worked out of defence and when/if it eventually reached the full-forward line, Eoin Bradley and Lee Moore were bottled up by the Mayo defence, and Derry were reduced to kicking scores from long-range. Similar to what happened in Ballybofey last July.

While Derry laboured and pondered, Mayo appeared to be flying. Alan Dillon was literally everywhere. Picking up loose possession around midfield and constantly setting up attacks, he is in sharp form. Derry couldn't contain him. Aidan O'Shea also showed some of his potential by scoring 1-1, and of the six Mayo forwards that started the game - all six scored. In fact they were their only scorers (except for a point by susbtitute Chris Barrett) and they distributed the scores fairly evenly.

Things improved for Derry in the second half. Whilst the removal of Lee Moore at half-time was a semi-surprise (he showed reasonably well in the first half, and hit a couple of decent frees), the introduction of Sean Leo McGoldrick helped add a bit of shape to the forward line. With Doherty back at midfield, Kielt at centre-forward and Paddy Bradley at full-forward, the Oakleafers looked a lot more comfortable. Gerard O'Kane moved into cenre-half back while Mark Lynch, who had struggled during the first half moved into the forwards.

Aidan O'Shea's fisted goal (45 mins) was another lucky break for Mayo, but they probably deserved to be seven points ahead at that stage. It seemed to kick Derry into life however, and they went on to play easily their best football of the game. There was too much left to claw back however and Mayo's ability to tag on a few points near the end (when Derry had reduced the deficit to three points) finished the contest.

Eoin Bradley's goal was struck with the very last kick of the game and put a three-point margin between the sides that will probably leave John O'Mahony wondering how his team won by so little.

But he'll be delighted with the win - as Mayo haven't won in Derry in 26 years - and he'll probably be surprised at how easily the win was accomplished. Mayo just overran and outlplayed Derry from the start, and we never looked like turning the tide; falling into the usual trap of kicking the ball backwards or kicking it away.

Relegation is a very real possibility now, and a huge improvement is required if it is to be avoided. A win against Monaghan next week is absolutely essential.

A few other observations from the game:

• As much as the defence has remained reasonably constant in the opening four NFL games, it has generally struggled. The defensive line-up for the championship still contains more questions than answers. Full-back? Centre-half back?
• Eoghan Brown replaced Raymond Wilkinson with about fifteen minutes remaining. Derry were clawing their way back into the game at that stage, and the more obvious change would have been to bring on Joe Diver at full-forward. It was pointless bringing him on for the last couple of minutes.
• Mayo are playing at a serious pace and it's not surprising that they're up pushing for a league final place. I'd be doubtful if they can keep that up for the remainder of the season though.
• Gerard O'Kane has played in about four separate defensive positions this season, Damian Cassidy needs to quickly figure out where is best to deploy him.
• It's a total quagmire down at the bottom of Division 1. It'd be worse if Derry had to travel to Scotstown next weekend. It won't be one for the purists!

Change of tact for Mayo

The following is the Derry team to play Mayo at Celtic Park on Saturday: M Dunne, M McGoldrick, K McCloy, D McBride, C Kielt, M Lynch, G O'Kane, Patsy Bradley, J Kielt, F Doherty, Paddy Bradley, A McLaughlin, R Wilkinson, E Bradley, L Moore.

I wrote yesterday that I expected to see changes for Saturday's game against Mayo, and also intimated that Damian Cassidy must start doing more to get Derry's forward division working as a unit when Paddy and Eoin Bradley are on the field.

Nothing new there really, but the team selection for the Mayo game seems to indicate that Cassidy is indeed actively seeking ways to shake things up in the forward line.

First things first. Paddy Bradley at centre-half forward? I seem to remember a few games in the past - in the Paddy Crozier era - when Bradley was utilised on the '40. The Monaghan qualifier in 2008 springs to mind. It didn't really work that day because of Derry's failure in possession further out the field. But Cassidy clearly seems to think that an inside line of Eoin Bradley and Lee Moore (fresh from U21 duty and in for his first start) will benefit from the extra space provided by the deeper utilisation of Paddy. Bradley is an out-and-out scorer so how he fares in this role remains to be seen, but it's worth a try. He can win his own ball, and will run at the defence. I just hope that Cassidy persists with this idea for the whole of the game - despite how well it's working - as game practice is required to see if this type of tactic has legs.

Next. Fergal Doherty at wing half-forward? Now this is new one (although we have seen him deployed at full-forward before!). In Cassidy's regime, the wing forwards have often been the most important men within his system of play. They provide the outlet from defence as well as creating overlaps higher up the pitch. Cassidy has tried a host of players in these positions; some have done well, others haven't. Last year's Ulster Semi against Tyrone was probably the day Cassidy realised that you just can't play anyone at wing forward. Enda Lynn and Eoin Brown struggled throughout. So, we can assume that Fergal Doherty will be tried at wing-forward as opposed to being a third midfielder wearing number 10. Doherty is strong on the ball and is a direct runner, but it will be odd to see him out of midfield (if he manages to stay out of it!). I'm not convinced he is suited to this position, but now is the time to find out.

James Kielt will start at midfield, and will have more responsibility here with Doherty tried on the wing. Lee Moore cam on as a sub against Dublin, but Saturday night is his first real chance to impress in a senior jersey. Aidy McLaughlin, who has already impressed in the league thus far, retains his left-half-forward berth.

It's good to see Derry are trying out a few new things in this game. It's proper experimentation really with experienced players playing new roles, rather than throwing in a new guy at half-forward and hoping for the best. Perhaps there is a confidence in the ranks stemming from the U21 game, and that may have relaxed Cassidy into picking a new-look side.

The only negative is that Derry appear to be weakened on the bench - in the forwards at least. With Eoghan Brown the only recognised scoring forward in the substitutes.

Defensively, Derry will remain the same, with Kevin McCloy starting at full-back. He will likely be tasked with marking Mayo's Aidan O'Shea, while McGoldrick and McBride will hope to pick up from their decent showing in Kerry at corner-back.

Mayo already have four points on the board in Division 1, so most of the pressure will be on Derry on Saturday night. The westerners will be without the striking option of Mark Ronaldson - who helped put Tyrone to the sword a month ago - so they may be light up-front. This was certainly a problem that blighted their defeat to Dublin last weekend.

It all points to a Derry victory. The Oakleafers give little away on home soil, and it's arguably the strongest team Cassidy has picked this year. I expect Derry to win this with a few points to spare (and would be dissapointed with anything less), whilst picking up a couple of much-needed NFL points.

Forget the lows of Tralee

What a difference three days makes.

It's a busy week in Derry footballing circles, and in the middle of it, it's pleasing to be able to talk about an excellent result for Derry in the U21 Championship against Tyrone. There has been much doom and gloom over recent days and weeks following Derry's lacklustre displays and subsequent defeats to Dublin and Kerry in the NFL, but a resounding win in Omagh on Wednesday night might just lift spirits again.

Even if it is only a preliminary round victory.

This is generally the same squad that reached the All-Ireland Minor Final in 2007, so much expectancy surrounds it. Senior squad members Caolan O'Boyle, James Kielt and Lee Moore all featured at Healy Park, while the injured Declan Mullan has yet to come into the side.

Fermanagh are up next in the first round proper, so Damian Cassidy will hope that his side can keep grounded and assume some consistency as they aim for an Ulster title.

Moving back to Sunday and the disappointing three-point defeat against Kerry. It would have been easy afterwards to blame Derry's defeat on inaccuracy in front of the posts, but Damian Cassidy got a little closer to the real reason for defeat:

"It was a ball-winning problem. When Kerry got on top, they went through a phase, really for 10 minutes in the second half, where they dominated practically all of the breaking ball which is where we lost the game."

This was the problem alright, but why Derry did not vary their tactics to prevent Kerry from picking up possession so easily is a more pressing concern. Time after time - in a painful second half for Derry and their followers - the Kingdom picked up easy possession from kickouts. Just like Parnell Park a few weeks earlier, Derry's gameplan totally broke down, with the forwards feeding off scraps and relying on frees to keep themselves in touch.

The Oakleafers were poor in possession also, with the unforced error count rising steadily as the game wore on. Not only did this prevent Derry from building meaningful attacks, but it handed the initiative to a Kerry side playing below-par in the first half. Once the twin central duo of Kieran Donaghy and David Moran had put the home side in front with ten minutes remaining, there never looked like a way back for Derry.

It's true that if Derry had taken more of their first-half chances they would probably have won the game. Fergal Doherty was unlucky to see his rasping drive come off the crossbar, and it would have given Derry a six-point lead at the break. But a lead was still there at the interval, and it was disappointing that Derry couldn't think of a way of holding on to it - especially when things weren't going our way in the second-half. Teams like Kerry and Tyrone have been able to hang in there when they are put under pressure. They can minimise opportunites for the opposition, while managing to take the odd score themselves. Derry must somehow learn to adpat better in these situations.

The windy conditions more or less spoilt the game, but Derry will surely hope they don't play as badly as that this season when facing a stiff breeze.

Personnel-wise, Aidy McLaughlin will have been happy enough with another good showing. He has settled well into the inter-county setup and on Sunday showed a willingness to run directly with the ball, grabbing another point.

It was also good to see Paddy Bradley back in the team. Playing alongside Eoin, it is still a worry however, that Derry seem to solely rely on this pair for scores. Damian Cassidy must figure out a way of bringing the other forwards into the game. Lumping the ball into the Bradleys hasn't cut it in the championship before, and this year will be no different.

Derry weren't too bad defensively. In the end, fifteen points was a big enough total to concede, but Dermot McBride did well on Cooper, as did Michael McGoldrick on Darren O'Sullivan. Derry weren't really threatened by sweet Kerry football - Jack O'Connor's side did their damage through the centre of their forward division.

Kevin McCloy coped reasonably well on Donaghy, but with the big full-forward gaining the man-of-the-match accolade, McCloy will realise he still has plenty of work to do before he realises his All-Star form of 2007.

Eyes now shift to the Mayo game in Celtic Park on Saturday night. With things so tight in Division 1 there isn't much room for manoeuvre, and a win is badly needed if Derry are to avoid getting completely bogged down in a relegation battle. With the U21 players available this weekend, changes will be expected.

Tough challenge awaits in Kerry

The following is the Derry team to play All-Ireland champions Kerry in Sunday's NFL tie: B Gillis, M McGoldrick, K McCloy, D McBride, C Kielt, M Lynch, G O'Kane, Patsy Bradley, F Doherty, A McLaughlin, B McGuigan, Brian Mullan, Paddy Bradley, Eoin Bradley, R Wilkinson

Five changes in the forward line, two changes in defence, the Derry side lining out against Kerry in Tralee will bear little resemblance to the one that succumbed to Dublin at Parnell Park three weeks ago.

I had the misfortune of chancing upon a late night re-run of that Dublin game on TV during the week. There was 59 minutes gone and the sides were level at 7 points apiece. In the couple of weeks that elapsed since the game I had somehow forgotten that Derry were in such good shape on the scoreboard with so little time remaining. With Derry going on to lose by seven points the scoreline after 60 minutes was an indication of how badly Dublin had played up until that point as opposed to how badly Derry were bout to play. Seven wholesale changes for the next game is little surprise.

Paddy Bradley returns to the team to complete what looks like a very strong inside forward line. An inexperienced forward unit failed to get into the game at Parnell Park, so Damian Cassidy will be happy to have the Bradleys available again.

We all know what Eoin and Paddy can do, but the inclusion of Raymond Wilkinson - impressive against Tyrone; injured against Dublin - provides most interest. He will probably play in a deeper position - possibly around the midfield area - with the aim of picking up loose possession and carrying the ball into opposition territory. With the season-long injury to Seamus Bradley and continuing absence of Enda Muldoon, this is a further chance for Wilkinson to enhance his Championship credentials.

In the aftermath of defeat at Parnell Park, one of the few Derry players able to hold their head high was Aidan McLaughlin. He was corner-forward the last day and is picked at right half-forward for Kerry. He comes from a midfield background in club football, so it's a big ask for him to pop into another position and impress. Especially away to Kerry when you're being marked by someone like Killian Young. Another big test for the Craigbane man.

He'll be joined in the half-forward line by Brian Mullan at left-half and the versatile Barry McGuigan at centre-forward. James Kielt is rested as Damian Cassidy keeps one eye on Derry U21s midweek game against Tyrone, but the Kilrea man still takes a place on the bench. All in all, there is strength, experience and - most importantly - scoring power in the Derry forwards. This should give Derry a fighting chance in this toughest of away fixtures.

In defence, the main talking-point is the return of Kevin McCloy at full-back. Lets make no bones about this - he's there specifically to mark Kieran Donaghy. As well as Gerard O'Kane has played at full-back so far this season, he isn't really suited to the big Kerry full-forward. It will do no harm to have McCloy playing here, as full-back could yet prove to be a problematic position in 2010, and the more options Derry have here the better. It also allows captain O'Kane to play at wing-back, where he expresses himself best.

Michael McGoldrick's first start of the season at corner back (in place of Brian McAlary) completes the changes.

So what of Kerry? Well, the good news for Derry is that Colm Cooper makes his first start of the season. He'll play at corner forward alongside Donaghy and Declan O'Sullivan. That's a fairly formidable forward line. Paul Galvin is suspended, Dara Ó Se retired and Tadhg Kennelly back in Australia, so Jack O'Connor's side may be weakened further out the pitch, but in reality, that forward trio might just be enough to help the Kingdom win this or any other game. The three members of the Derry full-back line are playing for places; they'll have their work cut out in Tralee.

Derry lost twice against Kerry in last season's NFL. Timidly. There wasn't much between the sides on the scoreboard, but Kerry hardly ever got out of second gear. With the All-Ireland champions point-less after their opening two games this year, they will be eager to notch their first victory, and we are likely to see more urgency in Kerry's play. This makes it an even more difficult trip for Derry. The Oak Leafers will perform better than at Parnell Park - displaying much more attacking purpose - but if Kerry's own attack clicks into gear, it may not be enough.

Dismal second-half costs Derry

Derry managed to put last week's victory over Tyrone firmly behind them on Saturday night as an utterly insipid second half performance more or less defaulted the two NFL points to a limited Dublin side.

Make no mistake, this was a poor performance from Derry at Parnell Park. Putting it into a neat little nutshell, they had a serious inability to get the ball to the forward line. And when that happens you struggle to get scores. Derry struggled to get scores.

The question Damian Cassidy will be asking himself in the aftermath of this game is 'why?'. Why did the execution of the basic premise of the game elude his side so readily?

He could point to the fact that his forward line was missing several of its key components: Eoin Bradley, Enda Muldoon, Paddy Bradley. Not to mention two of last week's impressive performers: the injured duo Raymond Wilkinson and Declan Mullan. James Kielt was the only constant in the forward division. A big turnover in personnel. And it's not easy for things to click in such circumstances.

So what of the incomers. Most impressive was Aidan McLaughlin. He plays most of his football at midfield, but on Saturday night he staked a claim to become a more permanent member of Derry's forward line. He can win his own ball, turn a defender and take a score. He had a good first half, but Derry's second half collapse meant he would see limited possession. Caolan O'Boyle was also a victim of a lacking supply.

The problem Cassidy will likely dwell on - not a new one to Derry football - was the half-forward line. Joe Diver and Andrew McCartney started in the wing-forward positions, and the Ballymaguigan man was unlucky to be replaced in the opening half. Mark Craig came in; meaning that in the two wing-forward positions (pivotal to the system they are trying to play) the Oak Leafers had a midfielder and a corner-back. The link play was virtually non-existent. Derry only produced a single point in the second half. The likes of Enda Lynn would possibly have been better deployed in this role.

Yet things looked reasonably good at half-time. Derry were patchy in the first period - getting turned over on countless occasions - but they were efficient in front of goal. Mark Lynch and James Kielt were accurate from frees while and McLaughlin hit a nice score from play. Similar to last week against Tyrone however, Derry were aided by some loose shooting from Dublin. They missed several scoring opportunities - kicking a few balls into Gillis' hands. Derry's two-point lead at half-time was as good as it got.

Overall Dublin were poor. They fielded a weakened side also, but their passing was poor and they seemed to struggle with the basics. They really only got going midway through the second half when Bernard Brogan came on to steady their forward line, and they were aided by Derry's increasing ability to gift them possession - in central areas. Derry had defended well up until this point, with Dermot McBride impressive at corner-back, Gerard O'Kane comfortable at full-back and Charlie Kielt impressing again at right half-back. But Dublin eventually took advantage of the cracks in Derry's performance, with Kevin McMenamon's goal finishing the game as a contest.

Derry had looked edgy in possession. There was too much lateral passing, too few runners to make use of the open spaces, and too many players taking too much out of the ball. Derry's turnover rate probably increased in the second half. It was a miracle the game stayed so close for as long as it did (Derry were in the lead midway through the second half). Actually, it's probably a measure of how poor this Dublin side themselves played. All told, this was a horrible match.

No one should get carried away with the performance of Derry in this game - it's still 'still only February' - but the squad as a whole must learn from the deficiencies displayed at Parnell Park. When the gameplan goes AWOL, it's time to ensure that the basics are done correctly, and that simple passes find their targets. Derry struggled in this regard throughout the game and there's much work to do before the visit to Kerry in three week's time.

Derry should have a stronger squad available for Kerry, let's hope the mentality is stronger also.

A few other points from the game:

• Bernard Brogan's introduction basically won the game for Dublin. It shows how costly Eoin Bradley's indiscretion last week proved.
• On that point, Derry's discipline needs to improve. Fergal Doherty and Patsy Bradley picked up needless yellow cards. Derry need to learn the lessons of previous suspensions.
• Did Declan Mullan and Raymond Wilkinson increase their championship prospects on last night's performance alone?
• Seamus Bradley was extremely unfortunate to suffer a knee injury after landing awkwardly. Fingers crossed for his quick recovery.
• The fist-pass rule needs to go. You can see players brains churning at the thought of having to do a proper fist-pass. It leads to mistakes and slows the game down. There's no benefit to this new rule.
• Did neutrals actually hang about long to watch this game on Setanta Sports, considering they were also showing Cork v Kerry? Turns out, it was nearly as bad.
  
• It's mad that within about ten seconds of the referee blowing for half-time the Parnell Park pitch is covered in children playing football and hurling.

Derry: B Gillis; B Óg McAlary, G O'Kane, D McBride; C Kielt, M Lynch (0-2), L Hinphey; F Doherty, Patsy Bradley; J Diver, J Kielt (0-4), A McCartney; E Lynn, C O'Boyle, A McLaughlin (0-1). Subs: M McGoldrick for McAlary (22), M Craig for McCartney (30), S Bradley for Lynn (40), B Mullan for O'Boyle (48), L Moore for Bradley (52)

Derry can tame Dubs

The following is the Derry team to play Dublin in Saturday's NFL game at Parnell Park: B Gillis, B McAlary, G O’Kane, D McBride, C Kielt, M Lynch, L Hinphey, Patsy Bradley, F Doherty, J Diver, J Kielt, A McCartney, E Lynn, C O'Boyle, A McLaughlin.

Following last week's victory against Tyrone, Derry will travel to Parnell Park to face Dublin, and they'll do so with a new-look full-forward line.

Last Saturday evening in Celtic park, Eoin Bradley and Raymond Wilkinson hit 1-6 between them. This week they don't feature. Bradley has been hit by the first of this year's "retrospective bans" by the CCCC, while Wilkinson has a knee injury. Declan Mullan, who impressed when brought on last week, is also injured. Enda Lynn, Caolan O'Boyle and Craigbane's Aidan McLaughlin enter the fray and complete the full-forward line. Concerns immediately surround the potential lack of scoring-power - against a Dublin side that restricted Kerry last Sunday.

It remains to be seen if all three will play as their shirt numbers suggest. O'Boyle will be the focus of attack at full-forward, but McLaughlin is predominantly a club midfielder, while Lynn is most naturally deployed as a half-forward and had a decent league campaign there in 2009. It is probable that Lynn will play in a role similar to Wilkinson against Tyrone - foraging around the half-forward line to pick up loose possession whilst trying to find space for scores in the 30-yards zone. It will be a tough act to follow as Wilkinson was impressive against the Red Hands.

Subsequently, there will be pressure on O'Boyle to perform at full-forward (which many people regard as his most effective position), but the greatest scoring responsibility of the evening is likely to fall on James Kielt. Six points last weekend was an excellent return, and with Derry experimenting in the inside line, he'll need to be at his best again to keep the Derry half of the scoreboard ticking over. Seamus Bradley, Brian Mullan and Barry McGuigan are likely contenders to enter the contest if the Derry forward line requires a refresh.

Derry's first nine remains the same however. Damian Cassidy clearly feels that enough experimenting is happening in the forwards, so he has sensibly opted for continuation in defence/midfield. This will give Gerard O'Kane and Mark Lynch the chance to further impress in their central roles, while keener eyes will focus on Charlie Kielt following an impressive half-back display against Tyrone. Tomorrow night he'll have to keep tabs on Paul Flynn, who was Dublin's hero last week in Killarney, scoring 1-2.

That brings us to the Dubs. Manager Pat Gilroy has spent the whole week trying to cool down expectations following victory over the All-Ireland champions, but his side should be on a high after that win, and it is unlikely they will succumb in a similar manner to when the Oak Leafers visited last March. They too continue with an experimental forward division. Alan Hubbard and David Henry are corner-backs by trade, but they will be stationed at the other end of the pitch. That raises questions about Dublin's scoring threat also - will they have the firepower to really trouble Derry?

Bernard Brogan will start on the bench, while his brother Alan and Conal Keaney are injured. With Eoin and Paddy Bradley and Enda Muldoon out for Derry also, both managers will find out a lot about the strength in depth of the forwards in their respective squads.

It all points to a low-scoring affair, with the 1-18 Derry tallied last weekend - or indeed the 0-20 racked up against Dublin last year - unlikely to be repeated. Damian Cassidy has urged his players to enjoy the unique atmosphere generated by a game against the Dubs, but they might not get the chance to enjoy it too much as this game is likely to be a scrappy struggle, settled by a single goal.

Last week I was happy to predict a Tyrone victory, but the Oak Leafers proved me wrong, with a solid showing from their central spine laying the foundations for victory. With the exception of Eoin Bradley, that spine will remain at Parnell Park, and it might just be enough to help Derry to a narrow win.

It'll do for starters

Typical Derry really. No expectancy, weakened team, underdogs, poor pre-season... they beat Tyrone by six points.

Some bookies were prepared to offer 7/4 about a Derry victory, and even yours truly was happy to predict a Tyrone win! Should've known better.

Derry continued their good recent record in opening NFL games on Saturday night. since their return to Division 1 in 2006 they have won each of their five opening fixtures (Galway 2006,2007, Mayo 2008,2009), and the early two points helps take some pressure off any relegations concerns. But that won't be in Damian Cassidy's thoughts this week, neither will he dwell too much on the impressive nature of his side's victory. It's the first week in February.

What he can do though, is take the positives from this victory and try to build up a confidence and winning mentality within the camp. And there were a number of positives.

Firstly, Derry dug deep in the second half when, after initially holding a nine-point lead, Tyrone reduced the gap to four points. Derry defended well at this stage, with Gerard O'Kane leading from full-back; but more importantly, they got their hands on the football and used possession intelligently to take the sting out of the Tyrone fightback. This was in direct contrast to how Derry finished the game at Omagh in last year's fixture.

This was an industrious and efficient performance from an experimental Oak Leaf side, and Cassidy will be happy with how his side made the most out of their possession. 1-18 is excellent scoring in an opening league game. James Kielt was chief-executioner hitting six classy frees, while Raymond Wilkinson marked his return to inter-county action with 1-2. The Ballinderry man's work ethic and spirit epitomised Derry's purposeful display. Eoin Bradley had a fairly inconsistent evening, but he still managed to score four points. All in all, Derry's forwards had a solid showing, with Andrew McCartney and the very promising Declan Mullan also weighing in with points.

I was most interested in seeing how Gerard O'Kane and Mark Lynch performed in their new defensive roles. O'Kane had an excellent game. His intelligence and natural ability helped Derry turnover Tyrone attacks. When his confidence is up he's a hard man to stop and had numerous forays into Red Hand territory to help set up Derry scores. The same went for Mark Lynch, and he capped a strong display with two excellent points. Will these guys hold these positions come May? Hard to say right now, but it's worth persisting with during the league campaign.

Other stand-out performances came from Charlie Kielt and Declan Mullan (introduced towards the end of the first half). Kielt is a strong runner and did a good job of covering his full-back line and carrying the ball well from defence. Mullan added a new dimension when brought on. He offers so much in a half-forward role; working tirelessly to make himself constantly available for possession. And he had to suffer what seemed like a lot of unwarranted abuse from the Tyrone defence (Conor Gormley, and his knee specifically, the chief protaganist). Both players are possible Championship contenders.

Tyrone were generally poor. Bar the middle third of the first half when they hit four unanswered points, and a similar burst after Derry's goal, Mickey Harte's men struggled. They did a lot of things that Tyrone don't usually do. They must have landed about ten balls into Barry Gillis' hands, their passing was poor and they ran down cul-de-sacs. Their forward line did not function at all. Derry must take some credit for shoring up the central areas of the field, but it's unlikely that Tyrone could be as rusty come the summer. The Tyrone contingent will likely point to the absence of O'Neill, Dooher and Cavanagh, but Derry were also without Paddy Bradley, Enda Muldoon, Niall MCusker, Kevin MGuckin and the McGoldricks.

Overall Cassidy will obviously be aware that the result has little meaning, but he will have liked what he saw from his side. His players showed character and determination, and a few of the newer players look like they may fit into the desired system of play.

A few other points from the game:

• The game was simmering nicely just before half-time after Eoin Bradley let Conor Gormley know of his presence. Perhaps the half-time whistle was a good thing.
• Derry had great width to their play. The likes of Hinphey, Kielt and Mullan constantly providing an outlet.
• At one stage Ryan McMenamin was marking Brian Mullan. Talk about a cancelling-out match.
• A few early yellow-cards. Last year, they would have been early substitutions. Thankfully, that rule didn't stick.
• The new rule, where the referee doesn't blow for half/full-time until the ball goes out of play, might cause some confusion. Derry conceded a point at the end of each half, when the ball could have been kicked dead.
• From a Derry perspective I was happy to see Kyle Coney go off, and not Colm Cavanagh.
• With McGuckin, McCusker and three McGoldricks not featuring, Derry are adding a bit of depth to their defensive options.
• Probably a bit early for the olés - and we've been stung by this before - but it's so difficult to resist.
• They were selling Derry bedsheets outside the ground.
• How much does Charlie Kielt look like Liam Hinphey?

B Gillis, B McAlary, G O’Kane (0-1), D McBride, C Kielt (0-1), M Lynch (0-2), L Hinphey, Patsy Bradley, F Doherty, C O'Boyle, J Kielt (0-6), A McCartney (0-1), S Bradley, E Bradley (0-4), R Wilkinson (1-2); Subs: D Mullan (0-1) for O'Boyle, B Mullan for s Bradley, J Diver for Patsy Bradley, Lynn for McCartney, McGuigan for Wilkinson.

Derry experiment for Tyrone

The following is the Derry team to play Tyrone in Saturday's opening NFL game at Celtic Park: B Gillis, B McAlary, G O’Kane, D McBride, C Kielt, M Lynch, L Hinphey, Patsy Bradley, F Doherty, C O'Boyle, J Kielt, A McCartney, S Bradley, E Bradley, R Wilkinson.

It's one of the toughest NFL Division 1 campaigns in many years and Derry will hope to get off to a flying start against neighbours Tyrone at Celtic Park on Saturday night. Derry manager Damian Cassidy has named an experimental side for the game. Gerard O'Kane has been selected as captain for the forthcoming season and has been handed the task of filling the problematic full-back berth for the NFL opener. O'Kane will be joined in the full-back line by Dermot McBride and Brian McAlary who spent the pre-season in Queen's colours. James Kielt did likewise and he will return to the centre forward position alongside Caolan O'Boyle who has also returned from University duty (with Jordanstown). All four featured in UUJ's one-point Sigerson Cup win over Queen's on Wednesday. Andrew McCartney and Charlie Kielt will also making their debuts.

Despite the fresh look of the Oak Leaf line-up, it has an extremely solid and experienced spine with Mark Lynch starting at centre-back, Patsy Bradley and Fergal Doherty continuing at midfield, Kielt at centre-forward and Eoin Bradley at full-forward. Damian Cassidy will hope that this central unit can win the game, and also help the younger players through the challenge posed by the Red Hands.

Liam Hinphey and Raymond Wilkinson return to the side after missing last year's action, with the Ballinderry-man likely to assume a free role around midfield in the hope that he can pick up breaks and create attacking opportunites for the inside duo of Seamus and Eoin Bradley.

Barry Gillis starts in goals. He will be under pressure this year from Steelstown's Martin Dunne, who had a decent McKenna Cup campaign. No doubt he will get further opportunity to impress during later league outings.

Tyrone may be without the injured Stephen O'Neill, Sean Cavanagh, Owen Mulligan and Brian Dooher, but they have named an experienced side. The McMahon brothers, Conor Gormley, Enda McGinley and Brian McGuigan all start, while the Derry defence will be kept busy by the presence of the in-form forward trio of Martin Penrose, Kyle Coney and Tommy McGuigan.

The bookmakers have Tyrone as 8/11 favourites, and it's hard to argue. They appear to have scoring options throughout their forward line, and this will surely pose problems for a rookie Derry defence. By contrast, in the absence of Paddy Bradley and Enda Muldoon, Derry's scoring hopes will lie mainly on the shoulders of Eoin Bradley, and he'll be up against a hardened Tyrone back-line. Overall, Mickey Harte's men seem well set up to claim victory here, despite their poor recent record at Celtic Park.

When the sides met last year however, Derry were expected to claim the points - but it didn't quite work out that way at Healy Park. Damian Cassidy will hope his side can emulate Tyrone's victory last March to similarly upset the odds.

The experimental nature of the Oak Leaf side should make for an interesting match on Saturday night, and it may be more of a learning exercise for his young size than a point-gaining one. The opening round of league fixtures are always difficult to call, however I'll reluctantly go for a three-point victory for Tyrone.

On your marks...

The Allianz NFL may start for another campaign this weekend but it's all very quiet on the footballing front this week. You'd almost think most counties realise that performances during the league count for little enough come Championship time, and therefore the opening handful of games count for even less.

Either that, or there won't be any 126 birthday celebrations this year.

If 2009 started with a fireworks-fuelled bang... then 2010 is barely raising a whimper. Instead of Tyrone travelling to Croke Park for a heavily publicised extravangza against Dublin, they will make their merry way to Derry City. And the lack of hype is certainly telling as the opening round of the NFL seems to have come upon us quicker than ever.

Expectancy levels in Derry seem to be very low ahead of this year's campaign. Not since the late 80's do I remember such a low-key hype surrounding Derry's footballers. Its borne out of a mixture of a disappointing championship exit last year, poor McKenna Cup form, injuries to key players and the continued dominance of Tyrone in Ulster and Kerry (and now Cork) at All-Ireland level.

And a tough Ulster Championship draw hardly helps.

But there's nothing to lift the spirits like a win over Tyrone and ahead of the game Damian Cassidy has named his 32-man NFL squad. It's a panel with a few holes, most notably the absence of Enda Muldoon (through injury), Kevin McCloy and Sean Lockhart (following retirement). Although McCloy has hinted at rejoining the panel later in the year.

There are seven newcomers to the panel: Declan Mullan, Mark Craig, Charlie Kielt, Ciaran Mullan, Martin Dunne, Andrew McCartney and Michael Bateson, and their inclusion may provide some clues as to where Cassidy's main priorities will lie for this campaign. With men like Muldoon and McCloy playing lesser roles, Derry need to develop some new talent. James Kielt will begin only his second inter-county campaign, while there are also high hopes for Caolan O'Boyle and the returning Raymond Wilkinson. There is a lot here for Derry to work with and this possibly belies the lack of excitement that surrounds the start of the 2010 season.

However, the overall standard of performance from Derry in the McKenna Cup was fairly mediocre, with a facile win against a poor QUB outfit barely a highlight. Out of the new players only Declan Mullan really shone, while Charlie Kielt and Andrew McCartney showed well in patches. This provides some encouragement, but these players will need the challenge of a full NFL campaign to prove their overall worth.

The return and subsequent form of Raymond Wilkinson has been one bright point of the pre-season games. He has slipped back into the fray with minimum fuss and his energy, drive and natural footballing ability has been impressive in a half-forward line that needs a fresh impetus. A starting place come May is surely his for the taking.

Derry's defence was a bit of a trouble-maker throughout 2009, and following a shaky McKenna Cup campaign (in which Derry conceded three goals against Antrim) this is the one area Cassidy will be keenest to sort out during the early stages of the league. The return of Michael McGoldrick and Liam Hinphey adds strength to this sector, but there must be concerns surrounding the full-back position, considering the currently-injured Niall McCusker is the only recognised full-back in the panel. It will be interesting to see who plays here in the opening games against Tyrone and Dublin. New captain Gerard O'Kane might get the nod while Mark Lynch is likely to continue at centre-half back (it's like 2002 all over again!). Hopefully performances in the NFL will provide some concrete answers to these positional questions.

And a tough campaign it promises to be. Donegal and Westmeath have made way for Monaghan and Cork. Once again, the primary objective will be to avoid relegation and any thoughts of reaching a third-consecutive NFL Final have surely been firmly placed on the long finger. Derry will only have three home games this year and a difficult campaign on the road will see them face Dublin, Kerry, Monaghan and Galway. The Oak Leafers will fancy their chances in all seven games, but points must be specifically targeted in the home matches as an initial basis for survival.

It wouldn't be the start of a new footballing year if we didn't have a new set of rules to experiment with. Last year the yellow card was the main talking point, but this year it's all about 'the mark'. It is expected that this rule will suit teams like Derry who - with the likes of Fergal Doherty, Patsy Bradley and Joe Diver - have some excellent exponents of the art of fielding. But it will be interesting to see if the rule actually affords the attacking team sufficient advantage or if it will only result in slowing the game down. As ever, time will tell.

Derry NFL Panel: B Gillis, M Dunne, B Og Mc Alary, M Craig, M Mc Goldrick, D Mc Bride, B Mc Guigan, L Hinphey, G O' Kane, Charlie Kielt, K Mc Guckian, B Mc Goldrick, Ciaran Mullan, S L Mc Goldrick, N Mc Cusker, M Bateson, F Doherty, Patsy Bradley, J Diver, A Mc Cartney, B Mullan, R Wilkinson, James Kielt, M Lynch, E Lynn, Declan Mullan, Eoin Bradley, Seamus Bradley, C O' Boyle, A McLaughlin, E Brown, Paddy Bradley

Join us on Twitter!

With the start of competitive inter-county action for 2010 only days away, Oakleafers blog is back for another season of following the fortunes of the Derry footballers and providing an opinion on the GAA world in general.

And... our blog is expanding its online outlook for the season ahead by joining the world of Twitter.

I'm sure some of you have an innate fear of all things "social-networky", and if you might describe Twitter as "another internet toy for internet hoors"... you're probably right! But we'll hope to put it to good use for Derry fans this season by providing up-to-date news, team announcements and regular score updates from matches.

If you can't make Saturday night's game against Tyrone (or are unable to watch it on TV), we'll be experimenting our score update service from Celtic Park.

Don't worry if you don't have a Twitter account... you'll be able to view all our updates in the "Twitter Updates" box on the right-hand side of this homepage.

If you have a Twitter account (or even if you don't) you can follow us here:
http://www.twitter.com/oakleafers

Another new season on the horizon. Let's hope we can enjoy at least some of it!