Ulster SFC Quarter Final
Derry 0-11
Donegal 1-11
Perhaps there’s a bit of hope left there after all.
Perhaps it isn’t all hype.
Perhaps Jim McGuinness deserves more credit than the doubters have offered recently. Perhaps he hasn’t been left behind. Perhaps he’s on the cusp of another unlikely victory as the path opens for what will be a fourth successive Ulster final under the stewardship of the Glenties man.
For Donegal bettered Derry on Sunday.
Physically, they were strong. Almost immovable.
Tactically, they were shrewd. It might’ve been boring, dull, anti-football or whatever else you want to call it but it was intriguing to watch.
And emotionally, they were hungry. Ravenous. Hurt. They were up for this and they were full value for the win as well.
Question marks over Joe McQuillan’s performance with the whistle were merited. The Cavan referee was frustrating, he was extremely harsh on Derry attackers, and he upset the flow of their counter attacks time and time again. Was he the reason why the Oak Leafers lost? Absolutely not.
It’s a tough one for Brian McIver to take. For the first time in what has been a glittering two seasons thus far, Derry haven’t continued to progress at that meteoric pace the manager had set. For the first time in his otherwise flawless tenure, they were brought to a halt and now the challenge is to start the engines again and get back on track.
But both sides needed to win, make no mistake about that. For Derry, it was an opportunity to copper-fasten their mark amongst the big boys. To announce their arrival. For Donegal, it was imperative to redirect the momentum and breathe new life into this now seemingly reinvigorated era.
A loss perhaps, would’ve more damning, more fatal to the men from the hills as it would’ve been for the young Derry men. And maybe that told the tale. Maybe that was the difference in that, for one outfit, defeat just wasn’t an option. It couldn’t be.
And a blistering 15-minute salvo after the break showed just what Donegal really are about. It showed just what Michael Murphy is all about as McGuinness’ troops rallied and knocked Derry for six – literally – kicking 1-5 without reply to turn Derry’s two-point half time advantage into a six-point deficit that the Oak Leafers never managed to haul back.
But for moments, you dreamed. Moments, you cheered. Moments, you thought this was possible as Fergal Doherty lorded the skies, Mark Lynch settled the nerves with two early frees and Patsy Bradley let Michael Murphy know all about it as the Glenswilly man unwisely lined up the Derry midfielder only to inevitably come off the worse.
But Doherty’s early injury inside the first 10 minutes would prove costly as the Bellaghy midfielder pulled up with a back ache. He tried to get up, he did get up, and he was reduced to the ground again. And yet, Doherty refused to give up but, sooner or later, he had to and, just moments into his championship return, the Oak Leaf leader was being helped off the Celtic Park pitch.
In what was a muted opening to the game – both sides respecting one another, both cautious, both sets of supporters engaged – Fergal Doherty was the first constant as he fetched for anything Mallon or Durkan were lumping out from either end.
Darach O’Connor sped away early on to raise a white flag and big Christy Toye – deputising at midfield in the absence of both Rory Kavanagh and Neil Gallagher – barged through to rifle over. Meanwhile, Niall Holly’s introduction was met with an audacious strike from the left wing before Ciaran McFaul and Emmett Bradley joined in on the act.
Derry took a 0-6 to 0-4 lead in at the break. It could’ve been increased had Holly made more of a two-on-one scenario that he tried to soccer-style through to McGuckin but Donegal too had their missed chances with both McBrearty and McFadden watching routine efforts drop short.
Straight away, the yellow jerseys turned Derry over from an immediate attack. The west coast men streamed downfield, Anthony Thompson slotted over before the sweeping counter replayed itself. This time, Thompson launched a diagonal ball 70 yards forward for Murphy who was wreaking havoc inside. The big full forward won it again, he had McGlynn off the shoulder, he had Karl Lacey to help him out and he had Leo McLoone to take it one further as the former Jordanstown student buried to goals to put Donegal into the lead for the first time in the game.
Derry were rocked but Murphy was just getting started. The Glenswilly powerhouse took another one on the diagonal, McKaigue got closer, but the Donegal captain dummied inside and curled over into a sea of green and yellow flags on the hill behind the Brandywell-side goals.
If that was good, the sideline was majestic. The skipper waltzing out beneath the stand, flirting with the 45’, striking effortlessly off the outside of his boot and watching it curl dead centre above the black spot with a good 30 yards to spare.
And, even though Derry looked dead and buried, they refused to bow. Mark Lynch burst through the centre and hit high and accurate before substitute Benny Heron struck from the 45 metre line and doubled his own tally with a beautifully sliced effort.
Emmett Bradley – having a fine individual display – curled over another from the wing as the Oak Leafers cut the deficit to two, Kevin Johnston’s blocked goal effort keeping them at bay.
But although they huffed and puffed, although McIver –passionate as always – urged the crowd to get behind his side, there was to be no more scare for McGuinness and his team as the 2012 All-Ireland champions shut up shop and closed the game out in fantastically comfortable fashion.
That’s the beauty of the new system that they have been adopting. When Donegal lost the ball, all 14 outfielders took off backwards. McFadden and McBrearty pressured beyond the 45’, the rest of them – the other 12 – closed every gap inside the half way line.
The introduction of the black card hasn’t deterred them. They just sit deeper and they break quicker. Possession isn’t the name of this game as a dominant Derry outfit were kept at arm’s length and Donegal cruised through to the next round and, in doing so, more or less securing a spot in the Ulster final with just Fermanagh and Antrim standing in their way.
Hype. That was the criticism levelled beforehand. Hype.
Perhaps the paper talk was all hype. Because the Donegal supporters are hoping again.
Donegal: from hype to hope.
Derry: T Mallon, D McBride, C McKaigue, G McKinless, K Johnson, G O’Kane, SL McGoldrick, F Doherty, P Bradley, C McFaul (0-01), M Lynch (0-04, 3f), E Bradley (0-03, 2f), E Lynn, E McGuckin, C O’Boyle.
Subs: N Holly (0-1) for Doherty, R Bell for O’Boyle, B Heron (0-2, 1 ‘45) for Holly, O Duffy for Johnson, J Kielt for McGuckin
Donegal: P Durcan, E McGee, N McGee, P McGrath, F McGlynn, K Lacey (0-01), A Thompson (0-01), C Toye (0-01), O MacNiallais, L McLoone (1-01), R McHugh, D O’Connor (0-01), P McBrearty (0-01), M Murphy (0-04, 2f), C McFadden.
Subs: M McElhinney (0-01) for Toye, N Gallagher for O’Connor, D Walsh for MacNiallais, L Keaney for McBrearty, D Molloy for McFadden
Referee: J McQuillan (Cavan).
Man of the Match
From a Derry point of view, Gareth McKinless was outstanding. It was his championship debut, he had only played 35 minutes of intercounty senior football beforehand, and he took to it effortlessly. Even playing at full back for large spells, marking McBrearty, the Ballinderry defender was always a driving force for Derry, he took men on, he went straight and he worked space for team mates time and again. That’s why he got moved to half back later on.
Michael Murphy probably deserves the accolade though for changing the game with a devastating spell beneath the posts.
Key Moment
The moment McGuinness planted Michael Murphy back in the full forward line at the start of the second half. In a 15-minute spell, the Glenswilly man won the game for his team with a masterclass of ball-winning, passing, and scoring. His speed, strength and selflessness laid in the goal that McLoone eventually finished off.
Terrace Talk
There were plenty of moans and groans about Donegal’s defensive set-up but it’s back to the same old argument: what obligation do they have to entertain people? They’re playing sport, McGuinness is in the business of winning and, with another development on The System, he looks to be continuing that tradition now.
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