Mickey Harte congratulates Jim McGuinness at the final whistle. Photo: Sportsfile
It is the last chance saloon for Derry this weekend, as they face Westmeath in Newry this Saturday.
When Derry won Division 1 of the National League, many had Mickey Harte’s men in the mix for the All-Ireland championship.
But in less than three months, the county could be crashing out of the competition all together.
Nobody could have seen this coming, but that is where Derry are now.
Their tactical approach was exposed emphatically over the last three Championship games against Donegal, Galway, and Armagh.
A masterstroke by Jim McGuinness and his Donegal side laid bare the fragility of Derry on the counter and from long kick-outs, but Harte refused to address this evident issue.
And in their three championship games this year, they have conceded nine goals and scored none, a worrying statistic as they enter the Westmeath fixture.
Derry found much of their recent success playing a style of football brought to the county by Rory Gallagher, and Harte has seemingly looked to keep a consistency to the style, but there is one key difference: tempo.
Derry’s attack was simply too slow in the previous three games, and their opposition have been able to defend in a rigid shape and with aggression to counter the Oak Leafers and secure victories.
And pressure is mounting for Harte and Derry, as across social media there were countless rumours about a reported meeting held last week about the future of the Tyrone man at the helm of the Oakleaf County, with the expectation being that should Derry lose, the pair will part ways.
But Derry GAA have come out to rubbish these rumours.
Yet a win is needed this weekend, if not to save his job but to save Derry’s season.
Their opponents came into the All-Ireland group stage expecting to be the whipping boys, but it has not panned out that way so far.
Despite losing their two games at the hands of Armagh and Galway, they were both narrow defeats, and Dessie Dolan will have felt particularly unlucky not to have secured victory over Galway.
The Lake men have used the expectation of many that they would offer nothing in this group coming into this Championship despite a good National League campaign securing promotion from Division 3, but their shock defeat to Wicklow in the Leinster Championship preliminary round dented the confidence of the side.
Yet Dolan’s side have used this as fuel for their campaign and demonstrated their ability and spirit to this stage in the All-Ireland series.
And they will be confident about shocking Derry should the performances continue in Páirc Esler this Saturday.
While only a victory is enough for Derry to progress in the All Ireland due to the heavy defeats they have suffered, the Oak Leafers should have enough to see off a determined Westmeath.
Searching for their first win since their National League victory in March, Harte’s men should be able to narrowly overcome their opponents this Saturday.
But it may be a nervy game for many Derry faithful as they pray their side keeps their slim All Ireland hopes alive.
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