Football

Derry hope to bounce back from McKenna Cup final defeat against Clare

Benny Heron has been drafted back into the Derry team after missing last week's Dr McKenna Cup final against Tyrone
Benny Heron has been drafted back into the Derry team after missing last week's Dr McKenna Cup final against Tyrone Benny Heron has been drafted back into the Derry team after missing last week's Dr McKenna Cup final against Tyrone

Allianz Football League Division Two: Derry v Clare (tomorrow, 2pm, Celtic Park)

NINE points probably didn’t do it justice. Tyrone were in a completely different league last Saturday night and, thankfully for Derry, they’re in a different league entirely this year following the Red Hands’ ascent to Division One.

You got the feeling that, with the start of the National League a week away, Damian Barton wasn’t hugely concerned about the outcome of the Dr McKenna Cup final.

Just getting there was reward enough, beating top tier outfit Monaghan seven days previous an unexpected but welcome bonus.

With a panel shorn of so many regulars and reliant on a handful of players getting their first taste of inter-county football, it was no surprise to see Derry crumble after a promising start, the slick Red Hands cutting through the Oak Leaf rearguard seemingly at will.

It’s never nice to lose heavily, especially to one of your neighbours, but you couldn’t blame Barton if he was keeping one eye on tomorrow’s crunch Division Two opener against Clare at Celtic Park

“You can either learn for this or it could demoralise a lot of boys,” admitted forward James Kielt after last week’s final in Newry.

“I suppose the danger is we can’t get lifted before that or we’re a bit down, the legs are sore or whatever, but we just have to pick it up again and learn from it and move on.

“Everybody there tonight would’ve learnt something.”

Barton has made three changes for the visit of the Bannermen, with Mark Craig coming into the defence at the expense of Oisin Duffin, Benny Heron replacing Ryan Bell in attack and Carlus McWilliams coming in for Peter Hagan.

Still operating without the Slaughtneil contingent, Barton has at least been able to call upon some of the talent from Watty Graham’s, Glen with U21 trio Oisin Hegarty, Danny Tallon and Jack Doherty all named on the bench.

Yet the Derry boss admitted the absence of so many key men, not to mention the injured Dermot McBride and the likes of Sean McGoldrick, Liam McGoldrick, Gareth McKinless and Niall Holly who opted off the panel last year, had taken a toll.

Kielt agrees: “You’d be lying if you said it didn’t make a bit of a dent because you’re going in there this year and it’s a relatively changed panel, which isn’t good for cohesion.

“When you look at that Tyrone team, it’s near enough the same team [from last year] and the vast majority of them have been playing together for three or four years together, so they know exactly what they’re at.”

With such a reliance on new blood, Derry could face a tough Division Two campaign, having only avoided the drop on scoring difference last year.

A home victory over newly-promoted Clare tomorrow would be a welcome boost ahead of next week’s trip to Meath, and it might not be a bad time face the Banner.

Colm Collins’ men were one of the surprises of last summer when they reached the All-Ireland quarter-final stage, and two of their key performers were the midfield pair of Cathal O’Connor and Allstar nominee Gary Brennan.

O’Connor definitely won’t be involved tomorrow after suffering from appendicitis, while captain Brennan will line out for Ballyea hurlers tonight in the All-Ireland club semi-final against Galway champions St Thomas’s.

A Clare source said that, should he come through that game unscathed, Brennan will be available for selection at Celtic Park – that would be a huge boost for Collins’s men as he has a huge influence on this Banner side.

The bookmakers don’t seem to like Clare’s chances too much, offering odds of 5/2, but given Derry’s fragility this could be extremely close. The Oak Leafers to get off to a winning start – just.

Derry: T Mallon; N Keenan, C Nevin, R Murphy; N Forester, M McEvoy, M Craig; C McAtamney, J Kielt; E Lynn, N Loughlin, C McWilliams; M Lynch, E McGuckin, B Heron

Clare: TBA