Late Conor Glass goal seals Derry win over Tyrone at Celtic Park

Derry 1-12

Tyrone 0-9

Whether he meant it or not, Conor Glass scored the first Derry goal of the season to make it maximum points after two games in Division One.

The wind was blowing an absolute gale at Celtic Park, but Glass used that to his advantage, as his effort curled over the head of Tyrone goalkeeper Niall Morgan, caught completely off-guard, and into the net. No-one saw it coming and there was a slight delay in the packed crowd before they realised just what had happened, the goal coming in the 70th minute and making the Derry victory absolutely certain.

Leading just by three at the break, many thought Derry would be up against it, and predicted the Oakleafers would need a margin of around six or seven points to give themselves a fighting chance, but the second half panned out very differently to what was expected. While Derry used the wind to their advantage in the first period, Tyrone seemed unable to do so when it was their turn, and they chalked up a despairing amount of wides in the process, 10 in all in a second half which they will want to forget very, very quickly.

The visitors scored just four times from 16 efforts in the second half, and two of those came deep in added tie, when the game was already over and beyond their reach. They also went 32 minutes without registering a score, from the 25th minute to the 57th before Seanie O’Donnell finally ended their misery.

Their inability to make a dent on the scoreline was one thing, but Derry’s character to step up and into that ferocious wind was another and led, as usual, by the imperious Glass, they never shirked from the conditions or the challenge. Brave and direct on the ball when they needed to be, there was serious improvement in their performance from the first half, which was littered with bad passes and the giving away of silly free kicks which allowed Tyrone to eat into their lead. Glass, who also had a goal disallowed, led by example and with Cormac Murphy, Brendan Rogers and Ethan Doherty also putting in notable shifts, Derry, far from their best, were able to dig out the win, which leaves the Oakleafers on four points heading into the game against Monaghan in just two weeks’ time.

The only concern for Harte and Derry is the second half injury to goalkeeper Odhran Lynch, which could leave him doubtful for that tie, but in Ryan Scullion, they have, as he proved, a very capable deputy.

Subplot

The subplot of Harte managing against the team he enjoyed massive success with was the big story heading into this game, but once the whistle went, it was all about what happened on the pitch, rather than what was going on off it.

Shane McGuigan and Niall Loughlin got the early scores, while Dery dominated the kick-outs, winning the first three of the game with Korgan unable to find a team mate as the red shirts rose highest to win every time

Ciaran Daly got Tyrone off and running on six minutes and the visitors might have had an early goal when Ruairi Canavan picked out Aodhan Donaghey unmarked but he was denied by the legs of Lynch with the goal at his mercy. 

That scare was not lost on Derry who responded with four successive scores, Murphy, McGuigan, McGrogan and Doherty splitting the posts as the home side continued to dominate in the air.

But Derry then began to give away free kicks, allowing Tyrone to claw their way back into the game, Morgan finding the target, the first of three in succession for his side, with Donaghey and a McCurry free reducing it to 0-6, 0-4.

McGuigan and Canavan exchanged frees before Doherty scored after an exchange with Glass, Derry’s first score in 10 minutes as an underwhelming first half came to an end.

Half Time 0-8, 0-5

The expected Tyrone fightback didn’t materialise after the break. Instead, it was Derry who got two very important scores through Murphy, who showed great hunger for each of his efforts off his right foot. In contrast, Tyrone managed four wides with one effort short in the first 10 minutes.

Derry lost Lynch on 46 minutes but the Derry fans were celebrating within two minutes when Glass punched into the net after Murphy went to the byline. Those celebrations were cut short however, with Murphy adjudged to have gone out of play in the build-up.

Conor Doherty extended the Derry lead to 0-11, 0-5 after Paul Cassidy had an effort tipped onto the bar by Morgan – a great save, while at the other end, McGuigan was the unlikely hero as he threw himself on the way of Michael McGleenan’s effort. McGuigan punched the air and Derry went on the attack to extend their lead through Ethan Doherty.

By this stage, Tyrone were on their seventh wide of the second half and 30 minutes without any score, but that finally came to an end when O’Donnell found the target twice in a matter of minutes either side of the hour mark.

Tyrone were always just out of reach with their wides really costing them, and the game was put beyond them on 70 minutes thanks to that effort from Glass, which was either genius or a wind-assisted mis-hit. Either way, it counted.

Brian Kennedy and Ciaran Daly added points for Tyrone in added time, but by that stage it was much too little, much too late.

Teams and Scorers

Derry: Odhran Lynch, Conor McCluskey, Chrissy McKaigue, Diarmuid Baker, Conor Doherty (0-1), Gareth McKinless, Padraig Grogan (0-1), Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers, Ethan Doherty (0-3), Cormac Murphy (0-3), Paul Cassidy, Niall Loughlin (0-1), Shane McGuigan (0-3, 1f), Ciaran McFaul.

Subs – Niall Toner for Gareth McKinless 35’, Ryan Scullion for Odhran Lynch 46’, Declan Cassidy for Niall Loughlin 58’,  Donncha Gilmore 70’, Emmet Bradley for Paul Cassidy 70’,

Yellow – Brendan Rogers 46’, Cormac Murphy 70’

Tyrone: Niall Morgan (0-1), Conall Devlin, Padraig Hampsey, Aidan Clarke, Ruairi Canavan, Michael McKernan, Ben Cullen, Brian Kennedy (0-1), Tarlach Quinn, Niall Devlin, Aodhan Donaghy (0-1), Seanie O’Donnell (0-2), Darren McCurry (0-1, 1f), Darragh Canavan (0-1), Ciaran Daly (0-2).

Subs – Joe Oguz 56’ for Ruairi Canavan, Conor Cush for Darren McCurry 62’, Nathan McCarron for Michael McKernan 65’

Yellow – Tarlach Quinn 35’, Padraig Hampsey 48’, Aidan Clarke 67’,

Referee: Noel Mooney