Navan victory eases pressure

Looks like we got Meath at the right time then. Whether it was a St. Patrick's Day hangover, a Cheltenham hangover or a struggle to come to terms with the loss of Joe Sheridan, who knows, but it was beneficial to Derry's cause on Sunday. Meath have played a lot better in recent weeks, and that's not to take away from a solid effort from John Brennan's men, but Derry will probably play better and lose games.

That's the thing about the league, especially when the GAA decide that playing four games in successive weeks is acceptable. Teams will weaken or strengthen from one week to the next, and there have been enough extenuating circumstances surrounding the Derry squad so far this season, that we know about these peaks and troughs more than most. So, when a chance to claim a win and collect two points comes your way, it's best if you gratefully accept. That's exactly what the Oak Leafers did in Navan.

We've provided something of a stumbling block to Meath in recent NFL seasons. Last week, this blog looked back at our greatest NFL victory over the Royal county (and in the absence of any Championship victories over them, it probably ranks as our best ever win against Meath), and in many respects Sunday's match in Pairc Tailteann resembled the pattern of the NFL Final replay victory at Clones some twelve years ago. The best football was played in the opening half, though this time Derry went in at the break leading by a single point. While as the second half progressed, Derry gradually got on top of their opponents, with Meath's inability to score eventually helping Derry get over the line with a little bit to spare.

By the time Stephen Bray had kicked the sides level at 0-7 apiece to open the second half it looked like the game would be nip and tuck for the remainder of the seventy minutes. Nothing had encapsulated the end to end nature of the scoring pattern up until that point more than the personal shoot-out Bray and Paddy Bradley were in the process of carrying out - with both men having scored four of their side's tally. Thoughts might have turned to 2007, the year these two forwards both won All-Star awards. Yet here we were, five years later with both players at the top of their game and still carrying the scoring fight for their respective counties. Having come back from such a serious injury it's been something of a surprise to see Bradley play so much so far in 2012. Most Derry fans probably would have been happy enough to see him feel his way back into inter-county football, starting maybe a couple of games and featuring in a few others as he works towards full-fitness. But he's played in every NFL game, and has been a hugely influential figure, especially in our two victories. John Brennan was quick to praise the Glenullin man after the game:

"It's incredible that we're playing Paddy Bradley in games when he should be taken off but he wants to play on to get his match fitness up... He won balls today that he had no right to win. Paddy is an outstanding player."

This gives us some indication as to why Bradley has played so many minutes this season.

0-7 each would prove to be the final time the teams were level, with the home side only managing three points during the rest of the game while Derry scored six more. It was down in large part to Meath's wides tally which had totalled 15 by the time the full-time whistle went and was in contrast to the efficiency of Derry in front of goal - exemplified by Patsy Bradley, Brian McCallion and Charlie Kielt coming forward to take scores. Blaine Gormley's ability to put a '45 between the posts helped matters also. Meath were reliant on Bray and Cian Ward to put points on the board.

Most Derry fans will be content with our ability to create and take scores. As has been discussed many times this season, the forward line isn't a problem. The retirement last week of Enda Muldoon is an obvious blow, but with players like Mark Lynch and Eoin Bradley to come in, coupled with Enda Lynn's emergence as a viable roving forward, our options in attack should be plentiful by the time the summer rolls around.

Of more concern is the defence. McCallion, Chris McKaigue and Aidan McAlynn made up the full-back line for the fourth consecutive game. They have settled in resaonbly well since the shock to the system suffered in Healy Park, although the level of opposition hasn't hit those same heights. Whilst the absence of Joe Sheridan helped Derry's cause on Sunday, part of John Brennan might have wished to see how the Derry defence would cope with the big full-forward. Cian Ward isn't the most dynamic or mobile of forwards and Meath struggled to get a direct game going, allowing the Oak Leafers to get numbers back and limit the Royal's scoring opportunities. The respective attacking outlets of Louth and Westmeath (in our next two games) might not replicate what awaits in the summer - for example, consider a forward line containing Colm McFadden, Michael Murphy and Dermot Molloy - so John Brennan might exit this NFL campaign with more questions than answers surrounding his best defensive line-up.

Seamus McEnaney meanwhile will have been left disappointed with his side's third successive defeat, after starting the campaign in a promising fashion. Despite being level with Derry on four points they are now floundering, and with their final two games coming against Tyrone and Louth, they will need to improve considerably. Points will not be given up easy in those contests, with both games carrying at least some historical baggage.

Derry will now be in good spirits heading into this weekend's home game against Louth. Peter Fitzgerald's outfit haven't picked up any points since they drew against Galway in the second game and are in danger of failing to add to their current tally of three points. This game was marked from an earlier stage as our "easiest" game of the NFL - if there can be such a thing, and a win is a must.

The Westmeath game on Easter Sunday increasingly looks like a difficult fixture for us. They have taken a while to get going in the league campaign (a bit like ourselves) - and they may yet rue the dropped two points to Louth in the opening game - but the Lakemen have picked up a bit of momentum with wins against Galway and Monaghan. Despite Garrycastle and Crossmaglen having to replay their All-Ireland club final following a (rather one-sided) draw on Saturday, the Westmeath squad should be bolstered by the services of the likes of Dessie Dolan - especially if they need a result from the game. Even so, they're no world-beaters of course, and they'll still struggle to stay up, but Derry shouldn't be looking at the next two games thinking an automatic four points will fall in front of us. Brennan will guard against that sort of complacency and a lot will depend on how the next round of games fare for all teams involved.

It was a vital win in Navan on Sunday, but we can't afford to take our eyes off the ball.

Some other thoughts from Sunday's game:

• At half-time on Sunday, Westmeath were well on their way towards a comfortable victory over Monaghan, suddenly the stakes at Pairc Tailteann had been raised.
• Patsy Bradley and Blain Gormley's presence added some more physicality to the middle third. That's a requirement if you're to go to places like Meath and come back with a victory.
• Enda Lynn has had an extended run in the side and it's paying dividends. Not an out-and-out scorer, but he provides a very different threat and is at his best running off the shoulder.
• PJ McCloskey and Michael Friel have had a solid partnership lately. It'll be interesting to see if John Brennan decides to mix things up in midfield over the next couple of games.
• It's almost as if Barry Gillis has never been away.
• It is thirteen weeks until Derry open their Ulster SFC campaign, with just two competitive games in between (assuming we don't play in the NFL Division 2 Final). That's almost like a close-season in itself - without a training ban of course.

When Derry ruled the Royals

Derry travel to Navan on Sunday to face Meath in a Division 2 league encounter, but twelve years ago they were battling it out for the NFL Division 1 crown... 

Clones on a grey Saturday evening in the middle of May is not the most appetising of places to find yourself. A bed of roses it ain't. To compound things, if the reason you've travelled to Monaghan's famous border-town is to watch a National League game, then you're quite possibly in dire straits. But this is exactly what Derry fans found themselves doing in May 2000, when the Oak Leafers took on Meath in an NFL Final replay, and they went home a happy bunch.

Coming a week after Derry had opened up their Ulster Championship campaign with a facile victory over Cavan, it's intriguing to think how we might have approached this Final if defeat had befallen us at Breffni Park. Imagine playing a league game after you've been knocked out of the Championship. Imagine smiling for photos on a Church & General podium knowing that the NFL game you've just won would be your last inter-county outing until the following January. Would any Derry fans have even made the trip? Lucky enough, we were spared finding out how fans, management and players might have treated such a unique scenario and instead were able to look forward to attempting to pick up another National title safe in the knowledge that the summer that was yet to truly start, was not already over.

The drawn NFL Final at Croke Park was nothing much to write home about, but it would be remembered for Anthony Tohill's spectacular first half goal. The Swatragh-man rose highest to field a Meath kickout before passing the ball on and making his way into the forward line, from where he collected possession back again and drove the ball to the net off the post. Tohill at his best. And he would reach those heights again in the replay at Clones when he raced onto an inch-perfect, defence-dissecting pass from teenager Paddy Bradley and smashed the ball to the net.

It was those two moments that would define the 2000 NFL Final, and are sitting pride of place in a packed Tohill highlight reel, but they were out of keeping with the remainder of that decider. At Clones, Derry really only played well for about ten minutes, scoring 1-5 without reply in the first half. Meath brought themselves back into it before the break with Trevor Giles pulling the strings from centre half-forward and Ollie Murphy in dangerous poaching form at full-forward. But All-Star Graham Geraghty was sitting in the Gerry Arthur Stand. Geraghty had got into an altercation with Derry goalkeeper Eoin McCloskey in the drawn match at Croke Park and both players were suspended for the replay. So with Tohill outplaying John McDermott at midfield and the combined threat of Muldoon and Bradley in the forward line, the Oak Leafers had put themselves into a decent position at the break, leading the Royals by two points.

And then, in the second half - almost without any warning - Derry gave a defensive masterclass. As this (rather terse) RTÉ report from the game alludes, at times it looked like the Oak Leafers did not want to score. Maybe the Italians would call it catenaccio. But call it what you like, this was an exercise in total pragmatism and is something we probably haven't done enough of since (a similar tactic helped defeat Tyrone in an All-Ireland quarter-final in 2001). Only four points were scored in the entire second half (two apiece). Almost every red and white shirt got behind the ball as Eamon Coleman decided that only a goal could win it for Meath. They never came close. This was the blanket defence before it had even been invented. It might have been dour to watch, but it was another masterstroke from Coleman that helped capture his second NFL title as Derry manager.

They would have their swansong in 2001, but on that dark Saturday night in Clones the great Derry team of the 1990s - and their illustrious manager - had captured one last national title. And best of all... this wasn't just any old Meath team. These were the current All-Ireland champions, managed by the great Seán Boylan. This was Seán Boylan's Meath team.

And they couldn't find a way past Derry.

--

NFL Final Replay (May 20th 2000, Clones): Derry 1-8 Meath 0-9

Derry: M Conlon; K McKeever, S Lockhart, D O'Neill; G Coleman, H Downey, P McFlynn; A Tohill (1-3, 0-2 frees) D Heaney; N McCusker (0-1), D Dougan (0-1), R Rocks; P Bradley (0-1, free), E Muldoon (0-1), J McBride (0-1). Subs: C Gilligan for Rocks, S McLarnon for Gilligan. 

Meath: C Sullivan; M O'Reilly, D Fay, C Murphy; N Nestor, A Moyles, R Kealy; N Crawford, J McDermott; E Kelly, T Giles (0-6, 0-5 frees), D Curtis; O Murphy (0-2), R Fitzsimons, J Devine. Subs: B Callaghan (0-1) for Devine, T Dowd for Curtis, S Dillon for Kelly.

Who gave this the green light?

With St. Patrick's Day coming up, O'Neills sportswear thought it would be a good idea to turn every county jersey green. Apart from being a piece of blatant marketing it's hard to see what they're trying to achieve with this. The only hope for them - and indeed possibly the only reason why they decided to produce these articles in the first place - is sales of the green Dublin jersey in the saturated GAA population around the capital. However, if the likes of the Dublin teams don't actually wear the jersey during this weekend's games it will likely turn out to be an opportunity lost. Then again, if every team wore green against each other it would obviously be utterly shambolic. Imagine the farce that would ensue if John Brennan's charges trotted onto the Páirc Tailteann turf on Sunday wearing a nice shade of emerald.

As might be expected from such a venture, most of the strips end up looking like either a Kerry jersey or a Limerick jersey. The Tyrone one somehow looks like a Leinster Railway Cup jersey, while the Derry version just looks like a (nicer version of a) Mayo top. So, bar sales to those that have some long-lost allegiance to the Connacht-men, O'Neills aren't likely to gain much from this experiment in the Oak Leaf county.

In any case, Derry players have worn this jersey before. Cast your mind back to the early 2000's when Eoin McCloskey and Mickey Conlan were keeping goals for the Oak Leafs. That was a special edition St. Patrick's Day jersey they were wearing... and they didn't even know it!

No real danger yet, despite defeat

No need to to hit the panic button. Yet.

Four games gone and just two points to show for it. But more importantly there are three games remaining in this year's NFL Division Two and let's face it - whatever about our current form - they are all winnable contests. The potential safety net of the Louth/Westmeath axis to finish the campaign, is one that looks increasingly like we'll have to make considerable use of. The game in Newbridge was always going to represent a tipping point for the campaign. Not just because it was the middle game out of seven, but also because the result would go some way to deciding where Derry's priorities might lie for the remainder of the league. A win would have had John Brennan preparing his side for a shot at promotion, but instead the defeat leaves us happy just to avoid relegation.

Sitting seventh in the table, what other option do we have?

Lucky enough things are still very tight in Division Two, and in such a climate, this weekend's games were never going to make a massive difference to Derry's position either way. A big win for Monaghan probably didn't look great from an Oak Leaf perspective, but a Louth victory was no use to us either, so no harm done there. A late one-point victory for Galway at home to Meath puts the Tribesmen into second and out of danger for now, while it keeps Meath close to the bottom of the table, despite sitting in third. Obviously a draw would have been the best result for us in Salthill, but again minimal damage for Derry.

Tyrone's easy victory against Westmeath keeps the midlanders as favorites for relegation and went some way to ensuring it is them and not us sitting at the root of the table. Like Derry, they only have two points, and have a tough run of games to follow against Monaghan, Kildare and Derry. Louth meanwhile, have three points. They'll face Kildare, Derry and Meath in their last three games. All being well, the Wee county and the Lakesiders will struggle for any sort of points at all for the remainder, so Derry can still be optimistic. We control our own destiny. We're not in any real danger yet.

(click on image to enlarge)

Having not attended the game in Newbridge, it's obviously difficult to take into any sort of reputable analysis, so it'll have to be a kind of faux-conclusion on Derry's performance based on newspaper reports and interviews.

It sounds like a game that Derry were well in for the most part, having matched Kildare in the first half and only going in at the half trailing by two points because of some wayward shooting. When the Lilywhites went seven points clear in the second half it looked like game over and thoughts immediately turned to last year's meeting between the sides at Croke Park, when Derry faded in the second half having started off reasonably well. But to Derry's credit, heads did not drop after Johnny Doyle's penalty goal opened up that hefty deficit. Sean Leo McGoldrick hit the net only two minutes later and when substitute Cailean O'Boyle grabbed a goal soon after, there was only one point between the sides.

Derry however, could never truly get on top of their opposition, and even though the Oak Leafs had just produced their best spell of the game, Kildare still held the lead. Alan Smith's goal five minutes from time was the deciding score, and the five-point margin in defeat sounded at least reasonably harsh on the away side. Oh, and it sounded like a decent game.

John Brennan will have been happy with some of the spirit and character shown by his side, but will be disappointed at the concession of 2-13. These sort of tallies are very hard to overcome at the other end, especially away from home. Michael Bateson was missing from last week's win over Monaghan and Dermot McBride's absence continues to be a factor.

As we were already aware, there is no real problem with the forwards. The full-forward line of Enda Lynn, Paddy Bradley and Conleth Gilligan scored all eight points between them. O'Boyle scored a goal when introduced, and considering players like Mark Lynch, Eoin Bradley and (potentially) Enda Muldoon are to come in, John Brennan has a lot of firepower at his disposal. The extent of the damage this firepower can cause is dependent on how Derry fare in the midfield and breaking ball stakes. Gerard O'Kane will be out for some months, according to reports, and his energy and drive was missed yesterday - and will continue to be missed over the remaining games of the NFL. However, the midfield pairing of PJ McCloskey and Michael Friel certainly weren't dominated in Newbridge, and Brennan has a headache in the offing when eventually deciding on his preferred midfield partnership. We may not find out until June.

Referee Martin Higgins had some ire directed at him post-game from the Derry boss for failing to award Derry a late penalty, whilst giving the home side an apparently soft one at the other end. All open to conjecture of course, but Higgins has previous with the Oak Leafers this season, and he won't be receiving a bye-ball from this direction. His partner in crime, Padraig Hughes, will referee our game in Navan this weekend, so best if we're careful about what we say... people have been sent off for less!

Some web links from Sunday's game:

• Report on the game from the Derry GAA website
• The southern press were all over the return of Dermot Earley. The Irish Times manages to squeeze in a couple of sentences about the game itself in its report
• If you want a re-hashed version of what you just read, nip on over to the Irish Independent. Alternatively, don't bother.
• Third time's a charm
• BBC Sport barely even mentions Earley
• John Brennan vents some fury at referee Higgins (via RTÉ)
• Some reaction of the audio variety from Kildare FM

High and Lows: last six games against Kildare

Derry and Kildare have enjoyed a decent rivalry over the last number of years, playing each other six times over the course of the last six seasons. As the records show, we've had a good record against the Leinster side lately in the NFL, but have come up short in recent summer clashes. Ahead of Sunday's game in Newbridge we're taking a look back at our last half-dozen encounters with the men in white...

July 23rd 2011 (Rd 4 Qualifier, Croke Park): Derry 0-13 Kildare 0-19
Our most recent fixture against the Lilywhites was played last July in Croke Park, six whole days after Derry's defeat to Donegal in the Ulster Final. The words 'hiding' and 'nothing' might have been at the forefront of Derry fans' minds as they made the trip to the Capital to play a Kildare side who were the form team in the country at that present moment. They had beaten Meath twice, and found themselves extremely unfortunate to suffer defeat against Dublin in a Leinster semi-final. They knew how to get on top of teams, grind them down, and - unlike some of their predecessors - could put scores on the board. Despite a burgeoning injury list, Derry started the game quite well, matching the Leinster side score for score, with Declan Mullan notching three first half points. Indeed, had it not been for an over-zealous and visually-challenged umpire, Enda Muldoon's palmed goal may have stood and Derry would have gone in at half-time level. Instead, we trailed by three points. And that was about as good as it got. Kildare kicked into another gear in the second half and a six-point loss ended what had been promising first championship season under John Brennan for Derry. Kildare went on to play in their fourth successive All-Ireland quarter-final where they were unceremoniously dumped out of the competition after a strangely compelling duel with Donegal.

February 20th 2011 (NFL, Newbridge): Kildare 0-11 Derry 0-13
During the early Spring of 2011, Derry travelled to Newbridge to take on Kieran McGeeney's side in a Division 2 NFL clash. The Oak Leafers were underdogs heading into the match despite having recorded victory against Tyrone in the league opener, and early on they lived up to their pre-match billing, going three points behind after 15 minutes. Derry then burst into life, with Conleith Gilligan and Paddy Bradley adding five points between them to give the away side a 0-7 to 0-5 half-time lead. In the second half Mark Lynch and Sean Leo McGoldrick also added scores to keep Derry's noses in front, whilst the Kildare attack struggled to both create and take chances at the other end. This was a surprising enough victory for Derry, but it was their sixth consecutive victory of 2011, with a win over Tyrone in the McKenna Cup Final to follow. Unfortunately our league form took a dip over the following three games, with big losses to both Donegal and Laois - who consequently gained promotion thanks to a better scoring average. The Lilywhites finished a point behind Derry in the standings after drawing against Donegal and suffering defeat to Tyrone. It all meant they get to meet again in 2012.

July 17th 2010 (Rd 3 Qualifier, Celtic Park): Derry 1-9 Kildare 2-17
A year before Kildare knocked us out of the Championship at Croke Park, they beat us in Celtic Park in a Round 3 qualifier. A very strange game was this one. Derry came out of the blocks like a house on fire (if such a thing is possible?) with Raymond Wilkinson grabbing a goal after only a minute and we soon opened up a five-point lead. By the end of the match the visitors had handed Derry their behinds on a silver platter, recording an eleven-point win after an insipid second-half performance from the Oak Leafers. Johnny Doyle was executioner in-chief scoring 0-8, while Eamon Callaghan tallied 1-4. Alan Smith scored the game's third goal. The Derry fans that were watching the game in Celtic Park (or at home on RTÉ) would have been left perplexed at how the game panned out. Having watched their side start brightly, the turnaround in fortunes was as surprising as it was emphatic, with the match over as a contest at an early stage. This was a Kildare team playing at their very highest level although they had made a habit that summer of giving up early leads, before storming to victory later in the game. It was a tactic that saw them subsequently defeat Monaghan and Meath to reach an All-Ireland semi-final, but they ran out of luck against Down when their last kick of the game smacked the crossbar. As for Derry, this defeat turned out to be Damian Cassidy's last game in charge. It had come on the back of a loss to Armagh in the Ulster preliminary round and a brace of qualifier victories over Carlow and Westmeath.

March 15th 2008 (NFL, Celtic Park): Derry 1-16 Kildare 0-8
Just looking at that scoreline has probably raised one or two eyebrows. This was a league campaign that ended very differently for both these squads. For Paddy Crozier's Derry outfit, they would go on to win the title after an exciting Final victory over Kerry at Parnell Park. Kildare meanwhile, got relegated. So in the Spring of 2008 these sides were playing at very different levels. This is a match that doesn't jump immediately from memory. It was played on a Saturday night, and was the second competitive game Derry played under the new floodlights at Celtic Park (Mayo, the previous month being the first). The home side got off to a flying start, and actually led by 12 points after only 25 minutes. That in itself was amazing enough, considering Kieran McGeeney - in his first season as manager - had his team playing a defensive brand of football (and drew against Tyrone that season 0-7 to 1-4). Mark Lynch opened the scoring with a goal after just 90 seconds, but Paddy Bradley was star of the show, finishing the game with nine points. Other scorers for Derry on the night included Enda Muldoon, Conleith Gilligan, James Conway and Liam Hinphey. Despite their differing league fortunes in 2008, the two teams had something of a reversal of fortunes in the Championship. Kildare made a reasonable impression on the All-Ireland series, reaching the All-Ireland quarter-final (albeit after a first round defeat to Wicklow in Leinster), whilst the Oak Leafers endured a miserable end to the summer - with defeats against Fermanagh and Monaghan - despite opening the Championship with a win over Donegal in Ballybofey.

February 25th 2007 (NFL, Newbridge): Kildare 0-10 Derry 0-7
This game truly is lost to the archives. So low key that it could have been left off this list and there wouldn't have been a single whimper of discontent. It was the final year of the Division 1A/Division 1B NFL farce, as the GAA finally decided that league realignment had been complete, with whoever finished in the top four of both sections moving into Division 1 for 2008. Derry were in Division 1B (for no real logical reason) and it was a very precarious situation for most teams, because whoever finished in the bottom two would find themselves playing Division 3 football the following year. In effect, half the league would end up getting relegated, so there wasn't much room for manoeuvre. The Oak Leafers set about it the hard way, losing convincingly to Westmeath at Celtic Park before this defeat to Kildare in Newbridge. It was a low-scoring game, thanks in part to some poor finishing on the part of the visitors. Paddy Bradley did not start the game and Derry shot nine wides in the second half alone. Conleith Gilligan was top scorer for the Oak Leafers with five points, but it was not enough to prevent a three-point defeat. We managed to pull ourselves into the top four by the end of the campaign nevertheless, recording impressive wins over Galway, Armagh and Down. On the final day of the league season, victory for Derry over Louth coupled with a Galway defeat to Down, meant that Derry would play Division 1 football in 2008.

July 1st 2006 (Rd 2 Qualifier, Celtic Park): Derry 1-17 Kildare 0-11
For our sixth most recent meeting with Kildare we've had to go all the way back to 2006. You might have to clear the memory banks a little bit for this one. 'The Da Vinci Code' was in the cinema and 'Maneater' by Nelly Furtado was in the charts. Bebo was all the rage, and there was a World Cup going on in Germany. In fact, this game was played as Wayne Rooney was getting sent off for England en route to an inevitable penalty shoot out defeat to Portugal in a dull quarter-final. But in Celtic Park, Derry we're having no such bother against John Crofton's Kildare side in a Round 2 All-Ireland qualifier. Just weeks earlier, the county was on a high after defeating Tyrone at Omagh in the first round of the Ulster Championship, in a game famous for the Oak Leafers managing to hold the Red Hands scoreless in the first half. But Derry then suffered a semi-final defeat to Donegal and found themselves stepping into the familiar territory contained behind the back door. This was the first time Derry had met the Lilywhites in championship football, and the result was never really in doubt for Paddy Crozier's side. Paddy Bradley top-scored with 0-6 while Johnny McBride - playing at midfield - scored the game's only goal in the 29th minute. Jim Kelly scored three points from centre-half forward and other scorers included Ciaran Mullan, Gavin Donaghy, Eoin Bradley and Mark Lynch, who started the game at centre half-back. The Kildare forwards struggled badly and managed to kick 12 wides. The Oak Leafers had recovered their championship campaign, and would play Longford in the next round. This is neither the time or the place to discuss that particular game.

Spring in the step

First points on the board, and there's a lot of sorting out to do in Division Two yet...

Taking a quick perusal of the Monday papers, it's nice to see the words "determined" and "dominant" associated with the word Derry. Obviously the subeditors of national papers enjoy regaling us with their command of alliteration, not to mention hyperbole, but we should be thankful on the week following Derry's six point victory over Monaghan, because there are days when the above adjectives could readily be replaced with "depressing" and "dismal".

Unsurprisingly, this was a game that did not hit the headlines. A quiet NFL weekend in general was eclipsed for column inches by Golf, Rugby and Soccer. The only Monaghan man getting any sort of hearing was Tommy Bowe. After all that, the differing fortunes of Down and Donegal on Sunday grabbed most of the GAA limelight - especially in the Southern press - and even the trusty old Irish News decided that details of the weekend's only all-Ulster clash should be pushed a few pages from the back. No arguments here. But despite the low-key nature of the tie, this was an extremely important victory for Derry.

Three weeks ago this blog talked about the Oak Leafer's NFL campaign having reached a nadir - or at least that was the hope - during defeat in Omagh. After such a performance it's natural to want the next game to come sooner rather than later, but the general feeling was that the three week break in the season was coming at the right time for John Brennan's side.

And so it proved to be. With Gerard O'Kane, Barry McGoldrick, Mark Craig and Michael Bateson making welcome returns, it was a stronger and more experienced Derry team that took to the field at Celtic Park to face Monaghan. Their presence was influential as the home side put two bad defeats behind them to produce a solid if unspectacular performance in disposing of the Farney-men. And whilst the starting team had a more conventional look to it, it still carried the air of experimenation, thanks to a continuing injury list that will test the squad to its fullest over the coming four weeks. Cailean O'Boyle - probably Derry's most consistent performer this season to date - missed through injury. Conleith Gilligan picked up a knock during last week's Railway Cup Final and couldn't start. With the likes of Eoin Bradley, James Kielt and Enda Muldoon still on the sidelines, John Brennan was playing with a weakened hand.

Despite that however, the forward unit performed to a level that was enough to keep the Monaghan challenge well out of reach. Paddy Bradley put six points to his name (which turned out to be the difference between the sides), and having the Glenullin man come into that sort of form will give Derry a much-needed edge in attack during this concentrated period of games. Bradley was ably assisted by Mark Lynch, and the hard-working duo of Enda Lynn and Neil Forrester help provide an energy that adds a dynamism to the Oak Leaf's forward play.

Derry's inability to win possession was a frustration against both Galway and Tyrone, not to mention the primary reason for defeat. This fact clearly wasn't lost on John Brennan who made seven wholesale changes to the middle-eight from the game at Healy Park last month. The headlines that speak of Derry dominating their opponents provide enough indication as to how those changes worked out. Derry's breaking ball statistics improved, with Sean Leo McGoldrick influential in winning ball and putting Derry onto the front foot.

Gone are the days of Derry's nasty rivalry with Monaghan that blighted three successive Championship campaigns from 2007 to 2009. Seamus 'Banty' McEnaney was something of a poster-boy for those infamous games, and Monaghan seem to have lost a little of their bite since his departure. Their first-half performance on Saturday night was especially weak as the home side raced into a seven-point lead. The inxperienced Oak Leaf full-back line was rarely tested, and it wasn't until the introduction of the returning Tommy Freeman that the Monaghan forwards even threatened scores from play.

Manager John Brennan was happy after Derry finally getting their Division Two season off the mark, but he is well aware of the challenges ahead:

"It was very important for us to get the win. We are only concerned with ourselves and we've got ourselves back into it. I am just glad for the players... We will just keep working, hope a few more players make it back soon from injury and hopefully we can build on this result."

The Lavey man won't have long to wait to find out if his side can build on this one, with a trip to Kildare on the horizon this Sunday. Both teams got their first NFL victories on Saturday night and with just two points now separating second and eighth in the division, the winners in Newbridge will be looking up, rather than down.

All in all, not a bad weekend's work.

Some other thoughts:

• Derry fans might well have done a double-take when they saw a half-forward line containing Gerard O'Kane, Barry McGoldrick and Neil Forrester. This could just as easily have been the half-back line.
• Speaking of which, Mark Craig and Michael Bateson did their chances of retaining starting places no harm on Saturday night. Craig also played well against Galway before getting injured and is well worthy of another start against Kildare.
• Michael Bateson is certainly not afraid to come forward and has a good eye for a score - grabbing two points. Hopefully his injury is not a recurrence of the collar-bone fracture he suffered in 2010.
• The Derry half-back line scored 0-4. These are the scores required to take pressure off the forwards and take some heart out of the opposition. 
• PJ McCloskey and Michael Friel represented another new midield duo this season. Other midfielders have included Joe Diver, James Conway, Patsy Bradley, Niall Holly and John McCamley. John Brennan would be forgiven for not knowing his preferred centre-field duo.
• That will become a concern if it continues into the season. 
• Barry Gillis was a familiar face in goals following injuries to Danny Devlin and Paul Morgan. Three games, three different 'keepers.
• Kildare might be a bogey-team for us, but Derry went to Newbridge last season and won. There's enough firepower in the side to do it again.

Tyrone show no mercy

Surely, things can only get better...

It's now Tuesday. Probably a safe enough distance from which to finally peel the fingers from your eyes. Just like any problem, it's best if we talk it out... the only question is, where the hell do we start?

Obviously, we're all in agreement that it was a very poor display in Healy Park on Sunday, and a difficult one for players and fans to have to endure against our arch-rivals. It was the type of performance that would have made Wes Craven proud. We're all aware of how badly things went at this stage - nobody more so than the players and management - so there's little point in beating that particular drum. Instead we'd be safer concentrating on where things went wrong and what can be done to stem the tide that's currently going against us.

Let's first look at the depleted nature of the Derry squad that travelled to Omagh. It's often too easy to fall back to the trusty old injury excuse after a heavy defeat, but it was a severely weakened Derry side that took to the field on Sunday. The two-man full-back line, for the duration of the game, was Chris McKaigue and Aidan McAlynn. Two players that wouldn't be recognised corner-backs or man-markers for their clubs, yet here they were, in Omagh, detailed with the task of marking two of the most decorated forwards in Gaelic Football. It's an example that perfectly encapsulates the difficulty John Brennan had in naming a side to face a Tyrone team that is more or less firing on all cylinders.

With Gerard O'Kane, Dermot McBride, Barry McGoldrick, Michael Bateson, Mark Craig and Ciaran Mullan (a full defence) all unavailable for one reason or another, the hands of the Oak Leaf selectors weren't so much tied as chopped off completely. Players like McKaigue, McAlynn, Brian Doyle and Brian McCallion all need to be tried and tested, but when you're forced to play them all at the same time, it places a lot of responsibilty on inexperienced shoulders. It all brings into sharp focus the recent retirements of Kevin McCloy and Kevin McGuckin. Their presence and experience will be missed.

But with all that, the biggest problem with the Oak Leaf performance on Sunday, just like last weekend against Galway, was that we couldn't get our hands on the football. Tyrone owned the midfield sector, displaying a sharpness and a mobility that was in stark contrast to Derry. Michael Murphy was excellent for the second successive game against us. He scored three points in the McKenna Cup Final and added 1-2 on Sunday. He may not be a traditional fielding, powerhouse midfielder, but he can move both with the ball and without and get forward to take scores. This is hard to track and can take huge pressure of a forward line. Unfortunately for Derry, our main midfield trio this season of Joe Diver, James Conway and Patsy Bradley are coming back from lengthy injury layoffs, and it will take some time for them to get back to full fitness. Derry's main source of possession in the middle came from referee Maurice Deegan's whistle for Tyrone fouls. At one stage in the game, with Diver off injured and Bradley off for two yellow cards, Derry's only recognised midfielder on the pitch was substitute Michael Friel. The introduction of PJ McCloskey and debutant Blain Gormley added some presence, while John Brennan was left to rue early-season injuries to Niall Holly and John McCamley.

Aside from that, Derry struggled badly in the break-ball stakes. It was a problem against Galway and will be evident again against Monaghan if we don't improve in this area. Neil Forrester made a difference when he came in and it is players of his ilk that possess the attributes required to win loose possession. Gerard O'Kane's return will be welcome also, while Brian McCallion's strong performance and willingness to get on the ball - despite the ugliness of the scoreboard - suggests that his future might lie at half-back rather than corner-back.

Derry's forward line was starved of possession but they had an afternoon to forget. Cailean O'Boyle and Paddy Bradley were well tied up and ended up drifting out the field to try and get their hands on the ball. Mark Lynch had a solid game. He's excellent at winning his own ball, but there was little in the way of support once he had it. Enda Lynn was the pick of the forwards. He displayed a constant energy from the first whistle to the last, always willing to get on the ball and his running off the ball offered an option on the rare times Derry got up the field. Conleith Gilligan offered a spark when he came on and there must be an argument for deploying him in the middle third to try and get Derry moving the ball quicker between the forwards instead of relying on the long ball. Playing directly is a tactic that can have its moments, but the Derry midfield and half-backs need to offer more variety.

Whilst Derry's line-up was inexperienced, the level of performance did not even approach the requisite standard to defeat Tyrone on their home patch. Too many basic errors, bad passes and slack fouling. It was a recipe that led to a diffculty in creating scoring chances let alone taking scores. There's no team better at exposing this than the Red Hands and no team more ruthless in capitalising upon it. A nadir was reached during the first fifteen minutes of the second half when Derry confidence was at an extreme low and numerous balls were kicked into Tyrone chests. Once the home side scored their second goal and the Oak Leafers had been reduced to fourteen men, a game that had struggled to become a contest, was over. The 12-point winning margin in no way flattered Mickey Harte's side.

The good news is that it is only February and Derry are unlikely to be as bad again. It's the right time of the year to be doing the soul-searching and there's time to rescue this NFL campaign. Let's hope we bottomed out at Healy Park and the game against Monaghan in three weeks offers a chance for redemption. The players will be very keen to make up for Sunday past.

There's no doubt John Brennan would not have been wishing the game against the Farney to carry such significance. But, from a long-term perspective, it should provide the Derry squad with the type of pressure-game situation they need to get more practice of in the build up to the Championship. The way things are going, the games away to Meath and Kildare will carry similar weight, and these are exactly the type of situations we might find ourselves in come the summer. The Championship isn't just about the first round, but a lot of teams (especially in Ulster) are probably guilty of preparing six months for one game and then not being able to adapt for a qualifier with six days notice. Brennan will know a lot more about his squad - and how they react to different situations - when consecutive games in March have been completed.

For now, the Tyrone game will still encompass thoughts, but there's three weeks to put things right. Or at least to get back on track. Defeat against Monaghan is not an option.

Some other thoughts on Sunday's game:

• Charlie Kielt looked solid in defence. Performing a fire-fighting role whilst still getting up the pitch and getting scores.
• Not for the first time in his career, Gerard O'Kane's stock is rising despite being on the sidelines.
• Ditto Dermot McBride.
• Ditto Enda Muldoon (need we go on?).
• Paddy Bradley has played a lot since coming back, he will welcome the break more than most.
• And after the year he's endured, no-one should ever be questioning his commitment to Derry.
• Peter Harte is going to cause some bother. And he's only 21. Like Dooher, only he is in total control of a game at centre-back.
• Not a fan of the Railway Cup but it's finally pulling its weight. Derry need all the time they can get.
• Louth have three points already.