Sport

Derry leave it late to get to grips with an energetic Longford

Derry's players pause to remember Aaron Devlin before their All-Ireland Minor Football Championship quarter-final against Longford at Brewster Park on Saturday <br />Picture: Margaret McLaughlin&nbsp;
Derry's players pause to remember Aaron Devlin before their All-Ireland Minor Football Championship quarter-final against Longford at Brewster Park on Saturday
Picture: Margaret McLaughlin 
Derry's players pause to remember Aaron Devlin before their All-Ireland Minor Football Championship quarter-final against Longford at Brewster Park on Saturday
Picture: Margaret McLaughlin 
(MARGARET MCLAUGHLIN 07711932889)

Electric Ireland All-Ireland MFC quarter-final: Derry 0-12 Longford 2-4

JACK DOHERTY led Derry to victory in a gripping All-Ireland quarter-final in Brewster Park on Saturday, when the Oak Leaf credentials were given a serious test by Longford.

The beaten Leinster finalists and underdogs could have been out of sight by half-time. They looked more tuned in, more intent, more intense in everything they did. The presence of Conor Berry at full-forward was allowing Longford to take advantage of a below-par Derry during the opening 30 minutes.

Longford netted twice in the first half, both of them as a result of long balls into the square – something which Derry failed to deal with convincingly in the opening half hour. Berry scored neither but had a hand in both. He broke the ball brilliantly into the path of Darragh Doherty and the knockdown was matched by a brilliant finish, low and hard off the wet turf and into Ben McKinless’ corner. That put Longford into a 1-1 to 0-3 lead that, frankly, they deserved at that point. 

They could already have had a goal when Berry, who had kicked a brilliant early point from the right wing, cut in from the same position with a sumptuous dummy. His powerful shot had McKinless beaten all ends up, but his clubmate Oisín Duffin covered back onto the line to somehow turn it away for a 45.

But when the goal did come, they almost added another within seconds as they smelt blood. Another big ball into the square led to an almighty scramble and Cathal McCabe lashed a boot at the loose ball, only to see it cannon back off the post with the Derry cover beaten.

It was only momentary respite. Berry’s dropping 45-metre free wasn’t dealt with and Peter Hanley sneaked in to poach a second goal and help Longford into a 2-2 to 0-4 interval lead.

Derry’s first half highlights were a stunning free from Shane McGuigan from beneath the boisterous stand, and the late score from Conor Glass that displayed the first real signs of urgency that Damian McErlain’s side discovered.

Within 90 seconds of the restart, though, you saw a totally different team. It may have taken them all the way to the 59th minute to actually take the lead again, but Derry proved their worth with a vastly improved second half display.

The intensity of Derry’s play went up at least three or four levels. At one stage, Conor Berry won a ball 35 yards from the Derry goal and Conor McGrogan battered at him with such ferocity that he spilled it three times, the third of them back on the 65.

In the first half, Derry panicked on the ball. The early kick had brought such dividends in their two previous outings, but Longford employed two sweepers and gobbled all that ball up. There appeared no energy in the Derry attack from deep and that was why they ended the first half with just 0-4.

But by absolute contrast, there were eight points added to that in the second period as they started to pull the Longford cover to pieces. Key to that was the outstanding man-of-the-match Jack Doherty. Once the others found the gear that he’d been playing in from the start, his excellence started to pay dividends.

“We weren’t at ourselves in the first half, but the lads showed serious character after half-time. Everything, from the big shower of rain to the way Longford set up, just went against us in the first half. We were running into tackles and, on that wet day, you were going to lose the ball,” said Derry boss Damian McErlain.

“But we came out in the second half and kept the play a bit wider and used the ball better and, eventually, we got there.” 

Ruairí Hawkins found space from a well-worked 45 to lash over and put Longford 2-4 to 0-6 ahead, but that was to be their last score.

Shane McGuigan carried the can in attacking. Having hit five from play in the Ulster final, he matched it in Brewster Park and added two frees for good measure. 

Derry pulled level with five minutes to play through McGuigan and Doherty then fired over a truly inspirational effort before Conor Glass sealed their place in the last four with an injury-time free.

MATCH STATS


Derry: B McKinless; N Keenan, C McGrogan, C Maunsell; O Duffin, M McEvoy, E Concannon; P Kearney, J Doherty (0-2); P Coney, S Downey, C Glass (0-2); B Cassidy (0-1), B Grant, S McGuigan (0-7, 0-2 frees); Subs: S Higgins for Grant (35), F Higgins for Cassidy (38), N McAtamney for P Kearney (41), G McLaughlin for Duffin (50), F Kearney for Maunsell (53).


Longford: M Hughes; M Cahill, R Sheahan, R Harkins (0-1); C Brady, R Moffatt, K Sorohan; C Berry (0-3, 0-2 frees), E Farrell; C McCabe, P Hanley (1-0), J Matthews; R Brady, P Lynn, D Doherty (1-0);


Subs: L Barry for C Brady (blood sub, 21-23), R Hawkins for Moffatt (29), C Finnan for Doherty (53), L Barry for Sheahan (58), J Kelly for Hanley (59).


Referee: L Devenney (Mayo)