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.

Cork Can Still Finish Job

It was quite ironic that Cork, who spent most of last year trying to catch up with Kerry (sometimes accomplishing it, but ultimately failing), last Sunday found themselves being chased by the men from the Kingdom. And they were caught. Just about mind, but they were caught nonetheless.

Given the route that the eventual losers of this tie will have to negotiate in the qualifiers, this Munster semi-final is an arguably more important clash than last year's Munster Final. And having got themselves into a winning position, Cork will be right to kick themselves for not finishing the job.

For three-quarters of the game in Killarney Conor Counihan's side displayed power, pace and poise that Kerry couldn't live with. But the Rebels had one problem... their full-forward line just didn't produce the goods. Masters, Goulding and O'Connor, whose physical presence doesn't match that of the rest of the Cork team, struggled against a fairly accomplished showing from the Kerry full-back line, with Marc O Sé at his imperious best. Cork simply couldn't get the scores required to win the game.

It meant that Kerry, who had an off-day in terms of creation and finishing were let off the hook, thanks in the main to some dead-eye cool accuracy from substitute Bryan Sheehan.

It was an exciting game that did much to blow away any bordeom still lingering from the low-quality offering from Breffni Park the evening before, and the good news is that there is a replay to come this weekend.

It will be interesting to see how both sides approach their second battle in six days. There appears to be more questions than answers surrounding Kerry. For Saturday's replay they have named Tommy Griffin alongside Dara O Sé in an all-new midfield pairing. Sunday's hero Sheehan replaces Captain Darran O'Sullivan in the full-forward line while Tadgh Kennelly will continue to find his Championship feet, but this time at left-half forward. Jack O'Connor will hope another game against Cork will resolve some persisting selection issues. A more settled and motivated Rebels side might just have enough resolve to shade it.

The Kingdom wouldn't fancy a treacherous back-door spin, but it might afford them the fine-tuning they need before Croke Park comes calling in late summer.

Cork Strike Could Hurt Kingdom

It may have just deepened the crisis on Leeside, but surely the rest of the country has been given a huge lift by news that the Cork footballers are threatening to join the Cork hurlers in strike action (only for the Championship, mind).

You've guessed it... we won't have to endure that most horrendous of Championship fixtures: Kerry v Cork in Croke Park. There's been no stopping this particular match-up in recent seasons, with Kerry coming out on top every single time (apart from last year's All-Ireland Semi when Cork somehow managed to salvage a draw, before, naturally, calving to their neighbours in the replay).

Surely the 2007 All-Ireland Final between these sides was one of the worst games to be played under this illustrious billing. Their other meetings in the All-Ireland series have fared little better. Since the introduction of the qualifier series in 2001, Kerry and Cork have met six times in the latter stages of the Championship. The Rebels have won none of these games, and have been beaten by a combined total of 45 (forty-five) points in the process. If the threatened strike ever materialises, the only people likely to be disappointed are the Kerry footballers!