By Cahair O’Kane

FOLLOWING their Ulster Championship quarter-final defeat by Donegal on Sunday, Derry now have to look to the All-Ireland qualifiers for solace.

It’s a path they’ve travelled many times before, but the landscape looks slightly different this year after the GAA decided to split the draw into two sides.

The qualifiers have traditionally been open draw but this year’s sees Derry on the ‘A side’ of the draw, and the draw looks favourable at first glance.

The two strongest teams on Derry’s side of the draw are Dublin and Cork, but the Oak Leafers are highly unlikely to meet the Dubs on their qualifying path, given that someone in Leinster will have to have beaten the All-Ireland champions first.

There is a good chance that they will come up against either Cork or Kerry in the fourth round of qualifiers, should they reach that stage.

The two sides which come all the way through the ‘A side’ will face either the Connacht or Munster final runners-up. The Oak Leafers could need a stroke of luck there to avoid Cork and Kerry and instead face Sligo, Galway or Mayo, whichever loses the Connacht final.

That’s a long way down the line yet though. Their first qualifier will take place on June 21, where they face a fellow provincial first round loser.

A second outing would be on July 5, with round three on July 12 and the fourth round on July 26, a week before the All-Ireland quarter-finals.

Qualifiers 2014

A Side: Fermanagh, Antrim, Derry, Tipperary, Limerick, Cork, Galway, London, Sligo, Wicklow, Laois, Dublin, Longford, Offaly, Wexford

B Side: Tyrone, Down, Armagh, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Waterford, Kerry, Roscommon, Leitrim, Mayo, Westmeath, Louth, Kildare, Carlow, Meath

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