'This Derry team isn't far away'

Ciaran Meenagh believes it is only a matter of time before Derry are back in an All-Ireland final as he reflected on Sunday’s devastating late defeat at the hands of Kerry at Croke Park.

The Derry boss admitted to being in a ‘state of shock’ after the game as his team were just minutes from upsetting the reigning All-Ireland champions to book a first final for the county since 1993. But with the finishing line in sight, Kerry scored five successive points to set up a meeting with Dublin in just two weeks’ time. With Derry in control o the game for so long, and having had a deserved three-point lead at the break, the loss was hard to fathom for everyone in red and white.

“It’s devastating,” Meenagh said. “We had them on the ropes. We really had them on the ropes at half time and we had them on the ropes at about 60 minutes when it looked as if we were going to score every time we attacked. Maybe the experience will stand to the group but it’s devastating. We came with a plan; if we were to listen to the outside noise we wouldn’t have been given a chance, but we were extremely confident coming into the game.”

Few pundits gave Derry much of a chance going onto the game, but it quickly became apparent that the Oakleaf county were not just there to make up the numbers, with Kerry in real danger at half time.  

“We thought we had the tools to deal with Kerry,” Meenagh continued. “We weren’t sure what set-up they were going to go with, but they went without a sweeper and we had prepared for that and we cut them to shreds because of that. The players’ job was to coach each other on the pitch and all those things worked so well but the things we were so hyper-sensitive of; the turnovers, not taking our chances, and particularly our own kick-outs and those were the three things that really haunted us coming down the strait.

“Maybe that will stand to the players in the long run, but, I suppose, from 53 weeks ago when we were beaten by Galway, it’s some consolation to give a better account of ourselves and to show progress over that period of time. With the age profile of the team, there’s still more in them, but it’s just gutting at the minute. It was there for the taking.”

Key moments ultimately cost Derry a place in this year’s final, with so many crucial incidents going against Meenagh and his players at significant times.

“We came to win the game,” Meenagh stated. “We came to win it and we threw everything at it, we were going to have no regrets going back up the road, and that was our tactic. There was a risk in that and I suppose that caught us slightly There was a huge call there on 63-64 minutes with a free when we were two up; it didn’t look like a free but I would need to look at all those things again. I suppose against Kerry with the quality they have, and with the bench that they have a well, we needed a lot of those things going our way.”

Progress

Just five years ago, Derry were siting in Division Four, making the progress of this team in such a short space of time quite remarkable. With successive Ulster Championships and successive All-Ireland semi-final appearances under their belts, as well as Division One football to look forward to, the future looks brighter than ever for the Oakleafers.

“It’s disappointing but everything in context and everything in perspective – I said to some of the Down management during the week, that where they were yesterday is exactly where we were two years ago. In terms of the progress the team has made, it is more difficult when you get to the finer edge of the wedge, but we’re there or thereabouts now. That Derry team isn’t far away. It was almost like a perfect plan coming together, but we just didn’t get over the line.”