No question, it was a disappointing performance by Derry on Sunday to open up the 2012 NFL season. Galway came to Celtic Park as underdogs and left as favourites to win promotion. That's the difference a 70-minute game of football can make, so the good news for Derry is that there are still another six games in which to make amends.
But a vast improvement is required if Derry are to make up ground.
John Brennan remarked after the game that his side were pin-pointing six points from the three home games and that the defeat has left Derry hoping to just remain comfortable in the division as opposed to harbouring any hopes for promotion. And that just about sums up where this defeat has left the Oak Leafers. But the Derry squad doesn't have time to sit about and look back at what happened on Sunday past. Attentions must swiftly turn to this week's game at Healy Park, where Derry will have to sharpen up considerably if they are to follow up defeat against Galway with a victory over Tyrone.
So where did things go wrong at Celtic Park? In short, Derry didn't get their hands on enough possession. We found it difficult to win primary ball or any of the breaks in the middle of the field. The midfield partnership of Joe Diver and James Conway started reasonably well, but as the game wore on Galway gained a stranglehold, giving themselves a steady platform from which to launch attacks. An obvious conclusion is that Derry need to improve in the breaking ball stakes. We have plenty of players in the middle third with strong, physical attributes, but it takes a smaller, nippier style of player to get down for the second ball. Sean Leo McGoldrick was Derry's best player in this regard on Sunday, whilst Gerard O'Kane's absence was noticeable.
Once Galway got their hands on the ball they were very effective in what they did with it. Nicky Joyce was looking sharp and Micheal Martin is a physically imposing corner-forward who knows where the posts are. But what impressed most about the Tribesmen attack was its variety. Cummins in the other corner didn't trouble the posts, but his pace was causing problems for Derry, enabling Galway to move the ball quickly from midfield and allowed Joyce to find the space a player of his talent revels in. The net result was a difficult afternoon for an inexperienced Derry defence.
It will be an afternoon that Derry's defenders will learn from, and we should remember that five of the six players in our two back lines were not playing in those positions during last year's championship. These guys (including Brian Doyle who came on the first half and Conor Murray who came on at half-time) can only get the requisite experience by facing teams like Galway in the NFL. To that end, John Brennan is doing the right thing by playing them and the hope is that they will find their feet as the spring wears on, strengthening Derry's panel in the process. It should also be noted that Brennan's hands were tied on Sunday with injury ruling out both Gerard O'Kane and Dermot McBride, and things weren't helped by the first half withdrawals of both Mark Craig and Barry McGoldrick.
Injuries aside, the Oak Leafers were guilty of basic errors in this game which helped Galway maintain a healthy lead. We also looked sluggish at times both with possession and without it. Too often was the ball stalled in the midfield third allowing the Tribe's defence to filter back and snuff out any potential threat. When Derry did move the ball quicker, mistakes were less frequent and the forwards had the space to do damage. Chris McKaigue's second-half point was a prime example. Enda Lynn - who added a deal of pace and energy to the Oak Leaf play - made a quick run down to wing to collect the ball from midfield, he quickly fed O'Boyle who had McKaigue running off the shoulder and he slotted the posts. A simple score, but very effective. This type of play needs speeds of movement and speed of thought. The Derry players are capable; they need to produce it more often.
Overall, the forward line did well with the amount of ball that came their way. Cailean O'Boyle continued his early season form with a tally of 1-4 and will have gained a lot of confidence from his performance. He might get a little more attention now against Tyrone, but he really has added a new dimension to Derry's attacking play, and always looks capable of finding the net. His goal may well have been the platform for victory, but - as has happened often in Derry defeats in recent years - we have taken our foot off the gas and allowed the opposition to get back into the game.
It's easy to criticise Derry after a loss like this, but huge credit must be given to Alan Mulholland's youthful and energetic Galway side. There was a great sharpness and variety to their play and they closed out the game very convincingly after the score was brought down to just a point with eight minutes left. As well as the headlining display by their forwards, Gareth Bradshaw was a constant thorn in Derry's side. It looked like John Brennan might have ear-marked him - asking both Barry McGoldrick and Charlie Kielt to mark the right half-back - but his engine, pace and power was unrelenting and he constantly set up Galway attacks, as well as getting up the field to score the game-changing goal. As mentioned above, the Tribesmen are now in the top two in the Division 2 betting, and playing with this amount of confidence they will be hard to beat this season.
As for Derry, Brennan will have been pleased with his team's improvement in the second half and the character they displayed in getting the game to within a point, but he will be disappointed and concerned at how comfortable the away side looked at times in Celtic Park. Sharpness and fitness need to be improved and the mistakes need to be cut out.
After their victory at the weekend in Croke Park, Tyrone are favourites heading into this Sunday's game against Derry, but it is a game that could provide the perfect tonic for this Derry side. The Red Hands have made a lot of changes this year also, so the Derry players should not be in awe of anything facing them in Healy Park. This Tyrone team can be scored against and if Derry can put them on the back-foot a win is there for the taking.
That would be one way to forget about the Galway game.
Some other thoughts from Sunday's game:
- It's easy to see why John Brennan wanted a defensive player on Bradshaw, but Sean Leo McGoldrick might have given him more to think about.
- Good to see Charlie Kielt back for the NFL. Best guess, that he'll start in the half-back line versus Tyrone.
- Brian McCallion again played well at corner back, while Mark Craig looked comfortable at centre back before his injury.
- Nice '45 from Danny Devlin. Memories of possibly(?) the last Derry goalkeeper to score for his county - Conleith Gilligan from the penalty spot for Derry minors in 1997. Ironically, had he not been off the field, Gilligan would probably have kicked that '45 on Sunday.
- The new jersey has acquired the retro style we've seen from the likes of Dublin, Down and Tyrone, but it really could be doing with a red band on the back.
- Galway may have struggled at senior level in the past couple of years, but - without getting carried away after one league game - their success at underage might be about to pay big dividends.
- Tyrone seem to excel in Croke Park, but let's hope they don't look as sharp in the Healy Park mudtrack.
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