Derry hurlers need to reach 'a level above'

Allianz Hurling League  |  Derry vs. Meath  |  Celtic Park, Saturday, 4pm

It some ways, it all begins now for Derry’s hurlers this Saturday as they aim to pick up the first of what they hope will be at least two victories which should retain their place in Division 2A.

The recent defeat to Kildare at Celtic Park may have been the third straight league defeat, but there were more than enough signs for Johnny McGarvey that his team have the fight to stay afloat this year.

The reality is of course that few, if any, backed Derry to beat Down, Kerry or Kildare, and it was always likely to be a straight out fight for survival up against Tyrone, Donegal and Meath.

“I think that’s probably the way to look at it,” McGarvey agreed. “It will probably be ourselves, Donegal and Tyrone. I think everybody would have said we wouldn’t beat Kerry, Kildare and Down and we’ll give Meath the best rattle we can.

“I think that was always the way it was always going to come down. Tyrone have no points and it looks as if they will struggle to stay up, so it looks like it will be one from Derry, Donegal and Meath, and we have Donegal and Meath to play so it’s very much in our own hands, but we have to perform and we have to perform intensity-wise at that level and hurling-wise probably a level above.”

A 19-point defeat to Down and a 20-point defeat to Kerry could have shattered the players’ confidence, especially with some of the county’s big hitters missing through injury, but the defeat to Kildare, down to 14 points, was much improved on a day when a gale force wind had a big say at Celtic Park.

“I think that was a massive plus over what it had been in the last two weeks,” McGarvey reflected afterwards.

“We were very disappointed over the way we had just petered out in the last two games. I think what we asked the players for, we got. I don’t think the scoreline reflected the match because we gave them the goals and had two half chances of our own which we didn’t take.

“They are a very, very good team and they were very accurate in the first half and they didn’t miss a wile pile. Their long-range shooting was very good, whereas in the second half, before the second goal we had four or five chances in a row and we didn’t take them.

“That’s disappointing, our shooting ratio; we were hoping we’d get up around the 20-point mark, but we fell short of it. But look, it’s definitely an improvement and it’s definitely a step in the right direction.”

Leading the way for Derry two weeks ago was Christy McNaughton, who was flawless with eight frees in an 11-point haul. McNaughton will need to be at his best again, as Derry chase very valuable points. It’s not just about McNaughton though.

“One thing we do know is that we do have character and we do have players who will step up for us in the tough times,” McGarvey continued. “As tough as the last two matches were, training has been very, very good and the boys know they are better than what they showed. It’s not to say that their heads are down and we’re running about feeling sorry for ourselves. We will stand up and fight for this thing. Look, we were under no illusions before (the Kildare game). We’re in a relegation battle here and we’re going to stand up and we are going to fight for it.”

Derry manager Johnny McGarvey is looking for more from his team this weekend

The important thing for McGarvey this Saturday is that the players learn from mistakes which have cost them in previous games, while showing that same determination to really get the season off and running.

“Probably the most annoying thing about those two goals is that they were very, very similar to the goals we conceded in Kerry, and probably one of the goals we conceded actually against Down,” he said.

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“It’s making that mistake of trying to play the ball around at the back against really good teams because if you get turned over, you’re conceding scores, and against teams like that, it costs you the match.

“We were thinking 10 at half-time because we were going to be against the breeze, but I think it was 14 and really it was probably out of reach. We were never going to make that because we just didn’t have the scoring power there to get ourselves 14 back and then try and win the match. But we were still reasonably happy with how we performed.”