DERRY must “put pride back in the jersey” when they renew acquaintances with Tyrone in just over three weeks’ time, according to Mark Lynch.
Derry’s first National League campaign under Damian Barton had begun brightly with wins over Fermanagh and Cavan, but they failed to win any of their last five games. They lost to Tyrone, Galway and Armagh, and drew with Meath and Laois to eventually finish third from bottom, staying up ahead of Armagh on points difference.
Derry finished the League with the second worst defensive record in the country, leaking 9-16 over the seven games, while the Red Hands went unbeaten in claiming the Division Two title. Lynch, who spent his playing time shifted between midfield and the inside forward division, knows that such stats don’t bode well, but he also wants his side to produce a performance that they can be proud of against Tyrone.
“We’re looking at every aspect we can improve on. Defensively, leaking as much through the league was a concern of course,” he said.
“There’s a lot of elements to that - giving the ball away, making mistakes going forward and things like that can cause that. We’re working on so many different elements, and putting a bit of pride back in the jersey.”
The Oak Leaf forward, who captained the county during the three years of Brian McIver’s reign, was a spectator in Omagh back in March as Tyrone won the Division Two clash between the sides. Out with one a series of niggles that have disrupted his campaign thus far, the experienced Banagher man could only watch as Mickey Harte’s side ran out 2-15 to 0-12 winners.
It was the sides’ third meeting of the calendar year, and their fourth of the season if you include the pre-Christmas Ó Fiaich Cup clash in Crossmaglen. The Red Hands have won all four to give themselves a psychological advantage as they prepare for the trip to Celtic Park - a venue in which Tyrone have never won - on May 22.
“Championship is a different day,” said Lynch at last Friday’s launch of the Ulster Club Open in memory of his former Derry team-mate Aaron Devlin.
“For sure, [the end of the League campaign] wasn’t good enough. We know that ourselves. We got into a way of going, things weren’t going our way. I made a few mistakes in games that could have won us those games, and we could have been sitting promoted.
“But listen, those are the fine lines that we missed out on. You can’t dwell on it. We’ll train hard for a few weeks and hopefully there’s a big support there, and hopefully we can give them something to be proud of.”
Lynch has found himself playing in midfield at spells during the League as Damian Barton looks for a combination to replace Fergal Doherty (retired) and Patsy Bradley (long-term injuries). Their leadership around the middle was so important for Derry teams of the last decade.
Chrissy McKaigue has taken over as captain this year and Lynch pointed to his example, and that of Sean Leo McGoldrick and Danny Heavron, as crucial in a new era: “Leaders like that are very, very hard to replace, if not irreplaceable, but there are boys who have really matured into leaders.
“Chrissy was always a very good leader and has proven that as captain this year. You have Danny Heavron, Sean Leo and boys who have really stepped up. They’ve always been quiet leaders, but very much examples to the rest of us. I actually look up to those boys. That might sound strange, me being there longer than them, but they’re really leading the team at the minute.”
