Sean O'Connell goal v Dublin (1975)

A couple of weeks ago I stumbled across one of those homemade, local sports highlights programmes from yesteryear on BBC NI. 'Glory Days' apparently. Charting local sporting "success" from the 1970s. You know the drill: Jackie Fullerton, lots of motorsport and Billy Bingham as a talking head. Missable stuff. 

But a diamond in the rough was the appearance of Sean O'Connell bursting into the Dublin square in Croke Park to volley to the net during Derry's All-Ireland semi-final defeat in 1975. A great Derry move and a fantastic goal. (This was recorded on my phone camera, so please excuse the ropey sound and picture quality!)

Showing my age here, but it was a score I hadn't seen before and it highlighted what appeared to be a decent showing from the Oak Leafers, eventually going down to a 3-13 to 3-8 defeat. 

Indeed, I don't recall having ever seeing any footage from that Dublin game, (although the 1976 semi-final against Kerry - in which the Derry players wear a jersey that somehow sports a horizontal red stripe - gets aired from time to time; see YouTube clip below) and it got me thinking about how performances from the likes of O'Connell, Jim McKeever, Eamon Coleman, the Gribbens and McGurks and a host of other legends from Derry and all around the country have probably been lost to the archives. And in many cases probably never seen tape at all.

The late Sean O'Connell also scored a goal in the 1958 All-Ireland semi-final against Kerry. It is one of the greatest scores in Derry's football history, both in terms of aesthetics and significance. A brilliant individual effort by all accounts, that helped the Oak Leafers beat the Kingdom by a single point and reach their first ever All-Ireland Final. Yet I, like most Derry fans have never even seen it. 

As that BBC programme proves, there are still bits and pieces of tape lying about, but it's a shame that most of us haven't seen any footage from great Derry performances of the past.

Maybe the GAA, along with the likes of RTÉ, will someday task a group or body to carry out the painstaking job of trawling the archives and remastering them. If such a thing could even be done. Although some YouTube members are doing a pretty good job of it already. Nowadays we are used to total saturation of Gaelic Games coverage, and we take these things for granted, but it would be nice if we could produce a digital archive of the great matches, great scores and great performances of the past, before they are lost forever.

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.

Saturday Night's Alright

Saturday's victory in Parnell Park all but ensures that Derry will be playing NFL football in Division 1 next season. This was the primary aim at the start of the NFL campaign, and it now affords Damian Cassidy the chance to further explore and develop his squad as the Championship approaches.

Players and fans alike realise that the "real stuff" is for later in the year, and victory over a poor Dublin side yields two league points and only that. The win was both encouraging and satisfying nonetheless, but while the Oakleafers can reflect on a positive performance, some unwanted media attention has fallen on a struggling Dublin side.

In an article in the Irish Independent, Eugene McGee described the game as a "rude awakening" for new Dublin manager Pat Gilroy.

"Derry arrived into town last Saturday night and blew Dublin footballers, both seasoned and greenhorns, away. This was one of the most comprehensive beatings inflicted on Dublin in Parnell Park for a very long time and it is sure to change the air of conviviality that the new management was so anxious to portray."

Never one to mince his words, McGee described the Dublin performance as "insipid" on Setanta Sports' coverage of the game. In print he has upgraded this analysis to "deplorable". He continues to suggest however, that it is still early days for this Dublin side, and it is a point reiterated by Tom Humphries in the Irish Times:

"Dublin’s apparent sluggishness on Saturday night was down to Derry’s superior fitness at this time of the year. Derry looked like a side who are five to six weeks further down the road on their fitness. Dublin are working to a different schedule."

It isn't surprising that the media reserve any praise on offer for an excellent Derry performance. McGee suggests that Derry are responding to a "totally different and attractive approach", while Humphries opines that "Derry are pretty much there":

"Consistency is what they are looking for under Damian Cassidy, a serious manager whom one imagines will get that extra few per cent out of a team which looked when winning the league at this venue last year to be capable of doing serious damage in the championship."

Talk of last year's NFL win should be a sobering thought for Derry fans and it now appears to be a by-word for a side yet to produce the goods come Championship time.

It may have only been the league, but on a moderately mild evening in Parnell Park, Spring was in the air. Let's hope some of the class Derry exuded will be in evidence again come the Summer.

Bradley Skins Dubs

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Possession Key Against Dubs

The following is the Derry team to face Dublin at Parnell Park on Saturday evening: J Deighan, K McGuckin, N McCusker, SM Lockhart, P Cartin, B McGoldrick, SL McGoldrick, F Doherty (capt), E Muldoon, E Lynn, Paul Murphy, P Young, P Bradley, E Bradley, B McGuigan.

Judging by his team selection for tomorrow night's clash with Dublin at Parnell Park, Damian Cassidy has made it abundantly clear that Derry's problem in their previous game against Kerry was not winning enough ball in midfield. This is something that will have to improve if Derry are to collect two points from the Capital.

Although the headline inclusion for the floodlit encounter is that of Paddy Bradley (in the full-forward line to make his first start of the season), changes elsewhere point to a desire to help Derry fare better in the possession stakes. Paul Murphy replaces Brian Mullan in the half-forward line, and his chief role will be to win breaking ball at midfield, where he enjoyed reasonable success on Sunday past.

Barry McGuigan earns his first start since the Mayo game, and despite being named at corner-forward, he will also be employed around the midfield area, in an attempt to help Derry pick up more loose ball.

Enda Mulddon comes into midfield to replace Joe Diver, and the Ballinderry man's partnership there alongside Fergal Doherty is one that offers plenty of ball-winning potential. This is the main objective from these wholesale changes, in an attempt to put Dublin on the back-foot, and prevent them from building a head of steam that tends to see them score heavily in short bursts.

In defence, Derry will have to look out for one of the country's top forwards in Bernard Brogan. Brogan has looked very lively in an otherwise disappointing Dublin forward divsion so far in this NFL campaign, and with his brother Alan slowly returning from injury (although he should play some part in Saturday's contest) the younger sibling is carrying a heavier weight of expectation.

Niall McCusker returns to the Derry defence, replacing Kevin McCloy at full-back. Kevin Bonner is named at full-forward for Dublin, but it is likely that Conal Keaney could play there at some stage, especially if Dublin revert to a more direct style of play.

Sean Leo McGoldrick returns to the side at left-half back. He will start alongside his brother Barry, who gets another chance to impress at centre-back. It's interesting that the two started in the exact same positions - on the half-forward line - against Mayo.

John Deighan completes the changes from the Kerry game, replacing Barry Gillis in goals.

This is a difficult game to call. Pat Gilroy was boosted by his side's victory in Ballyshannon last Sunday, and he will hope to build on that this weekend. Derry started the campaign off well with two early victories, but some doubts have emerged in the wake of the disappointing performance against Kerry. Contrasting outlooks. But those results become irrelevant this weekend.

The Oakleafers have enough fire in their armoury, and the changes to the midfield sector should ensure Derry do not get dominated like they were in Bellaghy. Dublin have not impressed so far this term, and they provide the ideal opposition to help Derry get back on the winning track.

Big Guns Show Early Hands

We had an interesting weekend's action in the opening round of the NFL. At Croke Park, where all eyes were waiting on the fireworks and pyrotechnics to light up the cold night sky, the Dubs and our lovely neighbours Tyrone reminded us what this GAA lark is really all about. Surely this will go down as an all-time NFL classic, and we'll be doing well to witness a better game during the whole of the 2009 season.

I was under the impression that nights in January were for heavy slogging matches, unbearable training runs, and the sweat dripping down your face forming speedily into ice. Yet here were two teams producing an excellent game of football, with fantastic individual performances on both sides. Tyrone started off in the first-half as if it was August 16. Their movement of the ball and clinical finishing was unstoppable. 1-18 is big scoring in the middle of winter (and they hit that same tally against Monaghan in their previous game in the McKenna Cup). Stephen O'Neill has been their chief protagonist, looking like he's raring to go for the year ahead; and Tyrone in general look like a team on a mission to defend Sam. Bad news for the rest of us.

Dublin's renaissance in the second-half was largely down to Ciaran Whelan turning up at midfield, and Bernard Brogan carrying a serious attacking threat. What a great player he's turning out to be. However, Pat Gilroy has a lot of work to do on this showing as Dublin looked every bit as naive at times as they have done over the past couple of seasons. Time will tell.

Down in Kerry, Jack O'Connor cut a familiar figure on the sideline as he watched his side tear up new McKenna Cup champions Donegal. The Ulstermen had no answer to the forward threat of Cooper, Tommy Walsh and Darren O'Sullivan. But star of the show was David Moran. He's spent a season or two doing an apprenticeship in the half-forward line, but at midfield yeterday he was simply brilliant, totally dominating from start to finish. O'Connor is talking about readying Kieran Donaghy for the Derry match in March. Isn't that something to look forward to?