Sport

Derry minors strong enough to overcome Longford hurdle

Derry's Shane McGuigan contributed five points from play in his side's Ulster win against Cavan on July 19
Derry's Shane McGuigan contributed five points from play in his side's Ulster win against Cavan on July 19 Derry's Shane McGuigan contributed five points from play in his side's Ulster win against Cavan on July 19

THE tragic passing of Aaron Devlin has cast a long shadow over Saturday’s All-Ireland Minor quarter-final after a tough week for the Derry GAA community.

The 23-year-old Ballinderry man lost his short battle with an aggressive strain of meningitis on Thursday and will be in the thoughts of everyone attending today’s match at Brewster Park.

His native county have already made waves in this year’s minor championship: they defeated last year’s All-Ireland’s finalists Donegal in the Ulster semi-final and followed that up with a three-point victory in the provincial final against Cavan.

Despite winning such a competitive Ulster championship, Derry boss Damian McErlain is reluctant to accept that Longford pose a lesser threat than their provincial rivals.

“You never know who the top teams are at minor level, nobody’s ever road-tested the teams before,” he said.

“I’d fully agree having played them twice this year that Donegal are a serious outfit and it took a powerful performance to beat them but every day is different.

“At minor level there’s not such a big gap that nobody can’t beat you and that’s the approach we’ll be taking into the Longford game, they’re not in the all Ireland quarter-final for nothing.”

Despite a 2-15 to 1-09 Leinster final defeat to Kildare, Longford manager Tony Devlin has been in bullish form ahead of today’s clash, claiming they have a great chance of upsetting the odds and reaching an All-Ireland semi-final. McErlain doesn’t doubt the sincerity of the Longford manager’s beliefs.

“That’s the sort of mentality it takes to get over the line. They beat Meath [in this year’s Leinster semi-final] who are obviously one of the giants of Leinster Football - but I don’t think Longford were in any doubt were going to win. I’m sure it’ll be the same against us as well.”

Ulster titans or not, the minors have been subject to the rigours of the county’s passionate club scene, cutting any post-final celebrations to an abrupt halt.

McErlain explains: “Last week was a busy weekend with club football, in Derry there’s always the pressure to play with the clubs. The boys were back with the clubs the next day which isn’t ideal both for the players’ bodies and thankfully they got through all that."

“They’ve won an Ulster title which is absolutely mighty but the next prize is an all-Ireland semi-final in Croke Park and it’s a great toy for refocusing the mind.”

Tiarnan Flanagan kicked the crucial score against Cavan, finding the net before half-time on their way to a 1-11 to 0-11 victory, but he has aggravated an injury and may miss out on today’s match.

However, the most influential individual performance against the Breffni came from Slaughtneil’s Shane McGuigan, who kicked five points from corner forward. Team captain Conor Glass has also justified the hype afforded him with a string of impressive performances to date, particularly against Donegal.

But if anything has brought Derry success this year, it’s been their impenetrable defensive unit – they are yet to concede a goal all championship and have held their opponents to an average of 11 points per match.

Longford’s players will take heart from their 1-9 to 0-8 Leinster semi-final victory over Meath, with Cathal McCabe’s goal in the eighth minute proving the difference between the teams.

Full-forward Conor Berry also impressed against the Royals, with three points to his name. He was also one of a handful of Longford players who did themselves justice in the Leinster final against Kildare, scoring 1-02.

Ominously for Longford, Kildare’s Jimmy Hyland kicked seven points from play in that match – but even if their defence tightens up significantly it’s hard to envisage anything other than a victory for the Oakleafers.