'Derry must learn lessons from 12 months ago' - McGarvey

Christy Ring Cup Final   |   Derry vs. Kildare   |   Sunday, 2:15pm

Johnny McGarvey’s message to his side is simple ahead of Sunday’s Christy Ring Cup final. Getting out of the blocks is a must.

The Oakleafers take on Kildare at Croke Park, searching for the county’s first title.

Fresh in the mind is last year’s decider and coming up short against Meath. At first glance, two points is manageable margin.

Scratch the surface and trailing by 13 points before charging back tells more.

It was a slow start. And it hurt.

Speaking at last week’s press evening at Owenbeg, McGarvey highlights the positive mood in the camp. It comes with a but.

“We've got to go and we've got to perform,” he said of Sunday’s showdown. “That's not what happened last year.

“We went out…we didn't show up for 50 minutes and fell short at the end. So if we're going to win it, we've got to get out there and we've got to perform.”

When Derry got “ripped in” they asked Meath questions.

The Derry boss can still see his team’s seven-point deficit. It should’ve been three with a little more composure.

“Corey (O’Reilly) had a ball through and cleared off the line,” he said of another moment when Meath were on top.

“Look, we didn't play well enough. We stood off. We weren't intense enough, we weren't aggressive enough,” McGarvey admits after delving back through the footage.

“That's why we fell short at the finish. So, if we're going to win the Christy Ring things will have to be different.”

Derry ticked the promotion box. Tier three of league hurling is secure for 2025. They’ve league silver tucked away.

Aside from a draw with Wicklow, Derry have enjoyed relative comfort in their games. If anything, McGarvey feels they’ve not at the desired consistency.

There have been spells when they’d put on a show. Other times, the clinical edge wasn’t there. Their win over Sligo was as close to perfection as they’ve had.

“I thought we were very good for 40 or 50 minutes against London,” he said of their vital win that one foot in Sunday’s decider. “We gave up a fair few chances but look, that's nit-picking.”

Looking inside the dressing room, the Derry boss is happy with his lot. Christy McNaughton has been an addition to their attack.

Cahal Murray came in to add to the scoring options. Ruairí Ó Mianáin, Callum O’Kane, Aimon Duffin and James Friel gave u-20 success. Dara Mooney was called in after fine club form.

Niall Farren is back after a cruciate injury with Darragh Cartin still battling his way back.

Derry players and staff celebrate with the cup after the Allianz Hurling League Division 2B final match between Derry and Tyrone at the Derry GAA Centre of Excellence in Owenbeg, back in March. (Photo: Ben McShane/Sportsfile)

“We've added real quality into that squad,” McGarvey said as his second season comes to a conclusion.

“The bond that they have among themselves…I mean they're a joy to coach and to manage.

“To be fair I don't like using the word manage because there's not a pile of managing in them. There's great leaders in there, they're easy worked with, they can manage themselves.”

Coming in at the last minute when Derry’s management post became vacant 18 months ago, McGarvey was “shocked” by the natural bond within.

“It could have gone one of two ways when we were getting beat heavily,” he said of coming into the job with many players stepping away ahead of the Division 2A campaign.

“You could really bond together and drive it one way or you could fall apart and go the other way.

“Our boys came together and, although we lost games by eight, nine or 10 points, we never give them up.”

He looks back on their second half performance against Carlow, referring how they drew with Kilkenny in the Leinster Championship this season.

“If we hadn't given up two handy goals early in that match we'd have been right there or thereabouts,” he offers.

“So I think that bond comes from that time, obviously I don't know what the bond was like before I got here, but the bond between our players is unreal.”

In the end, Derry’s relegation came with a draw against Ballycran and an inferior score difference. Had Sean Cassidy not been penalised for a harsh throw ball decision, a win and safety was a real possibility.

“It probably wasn't the worst thing in the world,” McGarvey said after digesting relegation.

“It probably gave us a wee bit of a chance, some breathing space to blood players and to look at players and maybe builds that wee bit of resilience as well that you need hopefully come next Sunday.”

After hinting at not reaching the full 70-minute performance this season, is it a case of Derry needing the perfect showing this weekend to take home the silver?

“I don't think we'll ever get the perfect performance…nobody ever does,” McGarvey concludes.

“We have to perform. We haven't done that and we didn't do it down in Hawkfield when we played Kildare in the league match.

“We didn't do it against Meath. When you go against those teams, it's not about starting well or finishing well. It's about putting it together over 75, 80 minutes as long as it takes.

“I'm very confident preparations are going well. I think we'll be extremely well prepared and I expect us to turn up and perform and if we do, we'll have every chance.”