Derry Must Battle for Victory

Once was bad enough, twice almost unforgiveable. Surely we can't suffer a third consecutive championship defeat to Monaghan, can we?

Well, the Gods have somewhat transpired against Derry this week with an ever-swelling injury list hampering team selection. But Damian Cassidy has developed a new-look Derry side this season. There has been a new system of play, and over-reliance on the likes of Paddy Bradley, Fergal Doherty and Enda Muldoon has been eliminated. This all provides foundation for the hope that Derry can finally overcome the Farney-men.

You'll hardly need reminding, but back in 2007 a toothless Derry succumbed to a raw and hungry Monaghan side. They had no answer to Monaghan's tenacious defensive game, and retreated into an error-ridden display.

Last year, Seamus McEnaney's side ended Derry's Championship campaign. Despite having a very close game there for the taking, Paddy Crozier's Oakleaf men didn't quite display the necessary attributes to win such an evenly-contested championship match.

A pattern emerged and Damian Cassidy is well aware. He will have appointed himself and his side the task of tearing this pattern to shreds.

Derry must stand up to Monaghan's battle-hardened gameplay. They must impose themselves on the game, and not allow Monaghan to flow like they have done in the past. Cassidy has readily accepted the challenge:

"I'm hoping we have the capacity to match that real competitive edge that Monaghan have. We know we have to match it and, if we don't, I'll be extremely disappointed. Monaghan are as physical a team as you're going to play against. They'll compete for every ball. We have to match that. If we don't, then we can't expect to win the game."

If Derry can show this 'edge' at Celtic Park, Monaghan's gameplan will suffer, and a talented Oakleaf side can finally let their football do the talking.

But it's not that simple. Monaghan have displayed footballing quality to match what might be described as 'spoiling' tactics. They showed some excellent form in Division 2 of the NFL (before Cork opened them up at Croke Park), and are priming themselves, like Derry, to end a barren spell in the Ulster SFC.

Thomas Freeman and Rory Woods will be the key cogs in their attacking system, while Derry will also have Paul Finlay to worry about this time after the Ballybay man missed the 2007 (illness) and 2008 (suspension) encounters. McEnaney may have talked down his team's chances this week, but he can be quietly confident of his side producing the goods once more.

So how can a Derry side showing four SFC debutants stop the Farney-men?

Enda Lynn and Barry McGuigan will hope to provide an outlet for the Oakleafers on the wing in the process of providing a direct link between defence and attack. Derry will also keep close tabs on roving Monaghan forwards. Hopefully this will negate the influence of players like Stephen Gollogly - who, as a case in point, seems to have excelled against Derry in the previous two meetings (scoring six points from play).

It remains to be seen how Derry's all-left-footed forward unit will line out. James Kielt has been named alongside the Bradleys in the full-forward line, with himself or Eoin Bradley likely to join Paul Murphy on the half-forward line. This is where Derry will hope to win the game. Monaghan have done a good job of keeping Paddy Bradley quiet in the past, but a more direct Derry gameplan, using Kielt inside with Eoin Bradley running from deep, will severely test the Farney men. The Oakleafers have the talent in this region to get the scores to win the game.

All in all, Monaghan will face a very different Derry side this time around; it will be more energetic, and play with greater intensity.

Maybe this is what the bookies are looking at in the build-up to the first real heavyweight clash of the summer. Because, despite the recent results between the teams, growing injury problems, and naming four debutants Derry are a best-priced 4/6 to win this game.

Perhaps they have taken Derry's Division 1 campaign into account, as well as home advantage and the opinion that new boss Damian Cassidy can finally gel these Derry players into a consistent championship outfit.

As Cassidy has iterated, Derry must match Monaghan's tenacity, thirst for the battle and fight for the ball. It may sound cliched, but this is what Monaghan do best.

The "white heat of championship" that the Bellaghy man alluded to upon his appointment last October is almost upon us. The Derry fans flocking to the new-look Celtic Park on Sunday know exactly how Monaghan will want to play. It's up to Derry to stop them and impose themselves on every sector of the field.

Then we will see if this Oakleaf side have the talent and belief to win the games that matter most.

New-look Celtic Park

In 1990 a newly-refurbished Celtic Park re-opened its doors to Senior Championship football when Derry hosted Fermanagh in the Ulster SFC. In the 19 years since, the ground has received numerous facelifts, but now, the covered, seated stand it was crying out for has finally been erected.It will be offically opened on Sunday for the Derry v Monaghan game, and now looks like a venue capable of hosting games of this magnitude.

The Monaghan players and management have been falling over themselves this week to describe Celtic Park as a 'fortress' for Derry. The Oakleafer's record there makes it hard to argue. Fermanagh left Derry City defeated in the opening game back in 1990, and since then Derry have only suffered one Championship loss at their home ground: to Down in 1994.

The Farney-men have played four Ulster SFC matches at the venue in that time, and have failed to leave with anything even resembling a result:

1991: Derry 0-13 Monaghan 0-8
1992: Derry 2-9 Monaghan 0-7 (replay)
1997: Derry 2-15 Monaghan 0-10
1998: Derry 3-13 Monaghan 0-11 (replay)

The Oakleafers will want to continue this record on Sunday, and defender Kevin McGuckin hopes having home advantage will be 'valuable' for the side:

"It's great to have the first round of the championship there, it's been redeveloped and we were up on the pitch there a couple of weeks ago. There's a new stand and it's looking well and we'd be hoping we'll get a good Derry crowd in and they'll get behind us. There's no doubt that'll be valuable for us."

A new-look Oakleaf side, in a new-look Celtic Park. After the disappointments of the last two years, Derry will be hoping for a new-look result on Sunday.

Farney Play Down Chances

It's probably the oldest trick in the managerial handbook. No matter how ridiculous you sound, try and heap all the pre-game pressure on the opposition.

This week, Seamus McEnaney is following it to the letter. He has claimed that Derry are massive favourites for Sunday's first round Ulster clash, and questions whether his own side should even bother turning up.

"Home advantage is a big advantage in Championship football. It’s fair to say that Derry are favourites for this game. In fact, if you read all the pundits, we nearly shouldn’t turn up for this one! You get the feeling that there’s people out there who feel we shouldn’t even travel to Celtic Park."

Monaghan go into the game hoping to beat Derry in the Championship for the third consecutive season. Maybe this fact would point to more than a small glimmer of possibility that the Farney-men can win this game, but, unsurprisingly, Banty has played down the significance of those victories and even claims that the motivation of revenge will be beneficial to the Oakleafers:

"Again, it’s another advantage to Derry. All the advantages are with Derry. They’ve played Division One football for the last five years, that’s an awesome advantage."

Awesome? Let's not go overboard Seamus!

Meanwhile, Monaghan half-back Damien Freeman also displays plenty of pessimism ahead of the Celtic Park encounter:

"A pitch is a pitch, but Celtic Park will be a big advantage for Derry. I’ve only played there once before, as an U21. Any time Monaghan went there it was a daunting spot to go to and very hard to come out of with a win. It is going to be a battle. After what happened the last couple of years I suppose they’ll be looking for a score to be settled."

Of course, all this pre-match talk is unlikely to effect Derry's preparations too much. But Monaghan haven't half talked their chances down.

This time last year McEnaney had a media ban slapped on the Farney-men; it's a pity he hasn't imposed something similar this year!

Injuries Taking Toll

The following is the Derry side to face Monaghan in Sunday's Ulster SFC First Round game at Celtic Park:

Derry: B Gillis; K McGuckin, K McCloy, G O'Kane; P Cartin, B McGoldrick, SL McGoldrick; F Doherty, J Diver; B McGuigan, P Murphy, E Lynn; E Bradley, Paddy Bradley, J Kielt.

Subs: J Deighan, D McBride, J Keenan, SM Lockhart, B Og McAlary, C McKaigue, J Conway, B Mullan, G McShane, P Young, S Bradley, M Lynch, E Brown, D Mulholland, C O'Boyle.

It's Damian Cassidy's first selection in Championship football, and his hand has been severely tied by an injury crisis that has ruled out four players who would most likely have started Sunday's Ulster SFC game against Monaghan if fit.

Ballinderry duo Enda Muldoon (foot) and Niall McCusker (groin) look set to be ruled out for a few weeks, while Mark Lynch and Sean Lockhart are fit only for the bench.

These absences leave a considerable hole in the Derry resources, but Cassidy is blue in the face telling us about how his experimental and ever-changing NFL line-ups were designed with this very problem in mind.

He can feel vindicated. For now.

Because Sunday is all about getting the result and despite having a lengthy injury list (swollen further by the names of Patsy Bradley, Paul Bradley and Colin Devlin), Derry supporters expect victory.

We're possibly expecting too much. Could any other inter-county side cope with the loss of so many key players against a hardened championship team like Monaghan?

Last year's game between the sides showed that Derry can struggle under such circumstances, but even then, a weakened side lost a very close game by only the bare minumum.

Thanks to the management approach taken during the league campaign, Sunday's team - which includes four debutants - looks a lot more familiar. The selection of Sean Leo McGoldrick, Enda Lynn, Barry McGuigan and James Kielt holds no surprises. The Oakleaf faithful expect victory because they believe that this crop of players are capable of beating Monaghan, and a lot more besides.

Sunday's side will see Joe Diver and Gerard O'Kane continuing at midfield and corner-back respectively, as they did in the league final.

In the forwards, James Kielt gets the nod in the corner-forard berth, while Barry McGuigan comes in for Brian Mullan at wing-half forward.

These players have been picked to carry out defined roles in Damian Cassidy's system of play. It's a system that depends on the team, and not individuals. It should be able to cope with the loss of injured players.

Derry are preparing to give it a rigorous test on Sunday.

Can You Feel it?

The 125th running of the All-Ireland Championship is underway, and in the picture below you can see how the GAA officially launched this year's competitions; by bringing a few high-profile captains (last year's provincial winners and Tyrone by the looks of it) together to don 1884 get-up.

How authentic it was too. Brian Dooher, Graham Canty and the like in their vintage rig-outs, dust caps, and Puma Kings.

With the pristine, modern stands of Croke Park providing an almost anachronistic backdrop, perhaps the GAA were trying to remind us once more about how far the Association has come since its 19th century inception. Perhaps the thought never even crossed their minds.

Either way it hardly matters, because the action starts for real this weekend; that's if we're prepared to forget about the New York v Mayo charade last Sunday. And with it takes place that most notorious of rounds in the most demanding provinical competition: The Ulster SFC preliminary round.

What a horrible place in which to find yourself.

As if the prospect of three rounds in Ulster wasn't bad enough (although Derry supporters have forgotten what even that might be like), a fourth makes winning the title a near impossibility. Over the last half-century only Armagh (in 2005) have managed to win the Ulster crown after having been drawn in the preliminary round.

Thankfully Derry have managed to avoid preliminary participation this year. That fate belongs to Down and Fermanagh and it's a difficult game to call.

Fermanagh recieved rave reviews during last year's Championship and they came close to winning the Ulster title. But they didn't quite manage it, and when looking beyond the hype, it's very hard to get excited about Malachy O'Rourke's side. They played five games in total during last season's campaign... they won two.

Creeping past a rudderless Derry in the Ulster semi-final was as good as it got for the Ernemen, with all their problems exposed in an awful display in Croke Park against Kildare.

A misfiring forward line was their achilles heel throughout 2008, and they don't seem to have rectified the problem. They suffered a terrible NFL campaign in Division 2, collecting only three points, and achieving relegation in the process. O'Rourke looks to have contracted a case of 'second-season syndrome', but the first season wasn't even anything special.

Down's 2008 season came pretty close to mirroring Fermanagh's. A promising Ulster campaign started with a surprise first round victory against Tyrone, but just like the Ernemen, their provincial challenge was ended by Armagh, before a weak performance in Croke Park against Leinster opposition (Wexford) ended their summer.

If Fermanagh's problems lie mainly in attack, then Down's lie primarily in defence, part of the reason why they succumbed to Tipperary in the recent NFL Division 3 Final, and also why they are unlikely to still be in the Championship hunt come late summer.

It all adds up to make this a 50/50 game on Sunday. I.e. don't rush to the bookies for this one. Both teams have big problems, but if gun was put to my head I'd possibly fancy Down to shade it.

Fermanagh will miss Ryan McCloskey (who was the rock on which their defence was formed last season), and with Barry Owens out they are weakened in this area. Up front meanwhile, they risk starting with two newcomers in a hopeful attempt to boost their scoring power.

Down boast more firepower with Daniel Hughes and Paul McComiskey impressing in the forward-line, while Benny Coulter's possible appearance could add further strength to this area. They should get the scores required to win the game.

It isn't an entirely exciting prospect at Brewster Park, but despite the weaknesses and inconsistencies of both sides, don't be surprised to see Sunday's winner in this year's Ulster Final (as they fall into the weaker side of the Ulster SFC draw).

However, history will be against them if they get there.

All the Manager's Men

The following is Derry's 35-man Senior Football Championship panel announced this week by manager Damian Cassidy:

Goalkeepers: Shane McGuckian, Barry Gillis, John Deighan

Defenders: Sean Martin Lockhart, Kevin McGuckian, Dermot McBride, Niall McCusker, Kevin McCloy, Carlos McWilliams, Joe Keenan, Gerard O'Kane, Brian Óg McAlary, Chrissy McKaigue, Paul Carton, Barry McGoldrick, Sean Leo McGoldrick

Midfielders: Patsy Bradley, Fergal Doherty, Joe Diver, James Conway, Enda Muldoon

Forwards: Gavin McShane, Paul Murphy, Enda Lynn, Brian Mullan, Paul Young, Barry McGuigan, James Kielt, Cailin O'Boyle, Eoghan Brown, Eoin Bradley, Mark Lynch, Seamus Bradley, Paddy Bradley, Danny Mulholland

Fergal Doherty will captain the squad, while vice-Captain Niall McCusker will miss the Ulster SFC opener against Monaghan after undergoing groin surgery this week.

Newcomers to the panel are Gavin McShane, who played McKenna Cup football for Derry earlier in the season; Danny Mulholland, who played in the same competition for UUJ; and Cailin O'Boyle and Carlos McWilliams, who both played in Derry's 2007 Minor side.

Taking the Ring-road

It's getting harder and harder to make sense of GAA competitions these days, what with back-doors and round-robins, and trap-doors and all the rest of it. At least Santa Claus has the decency to go down the chimney.

It's got to the stage that even when watching BBC's The Apprentice, I'm half expecting the losing candidate to appear in some sort of loser's round on BBC Four the following Saturday night, with the winner appearing at the quarter-final stage. If there was one. But no. When Alan Sugar says "You're fired!", that's the end of the road.

And rightly so. Some of our competitions could pay notice.

Anyway, I digress. If any of you are still reading I'll cut a long story short. Even though they suffered a four-point defeat to Down last Saturday, Derry's hurlers are still well and truly in this year's Christy Ring Cup. A win against Wicklow this weekend will qualify them for a quarter-final.

Sam Dodds amassed a personal tally of 0-17, but his side still came up short against the Mournemen, who were unable to field for a friendly against Limerick just a week before!

The Oakleafers had a convincing 18-point victory over Wicklow in the NHL back in March, and will be confident of repeating a similar feat at Banagher this Saturday. A win could even set up a rematch with Down in the last-eight, if Down manage to get beat by Kerry in their Round 2 game.

Make sense?