Ulster Senior Football Championship quarter-final: Derry v Tyrone
(Sunday, 2pm, Celtic Park, live on BBC2 NI & RTE1)
THIS is the one that really matters. Four games, four wins - they will count for nothing if Tyrone leave Celtic Park on Sunday on the wrong end of the first big shock of the Championship summer.
The Red Hands may have swept the boards since Derry and Tyrone first crossed swords in the bitter cold of Crossmaglen weeks before Christmas, but four rounds of shadow boxing counts for very little when you step between the ropes on the big day.
Mickey Harte has been around long enough to know that any beating of the drum before Championship, and there has been plenty, will be swiftly drowned out by Oak Leaf cheers should Ulster Championship favourites Tyrone come a cropper at the first hurdle.
Yet, to disregard those past meetings completely - particularly the National League encounter in early March - would be foolish, especially from a Derry standpoint. That night in Omagh was a clear indication of how big a gap there was between them and Tyrone. Despite kicking 14 wides, the Red Hands still won by nine. It was as emphatic a victory as you are likely to see in this fixture.
And while one set of players knew - to a man - what their specific role was and executed their manager’s orders to perfection, the other ran out of ideas long before the final whistle was blown.
There is no doubt that individual errors cost them several points at Healy Park, but to rely solely on that excuse would be to paper over the cracks on a major scale. The truth is that Derry couldn’t cope with the pace, power and - as Damian Barton said himself - off-the-cuff unpredictability of the Tyrone counter.
If it wasn’t Tiernan McCann bursting forward, it was Rory Brennan, or substitute Conor Meyler. The way Sean Cavanagh, Connor McAliskey and Ronan O’Neill rotated positions was a joy to behold - and a nightmare to defend against.
After enjoying limited success when playing the ball in long, Derry’s attempts to move the ball into range failed as they were gobbled up and turned over on several occasions.
Eoin McNicholl’s kick-outs were successfully targeted by Tyrone time and time again. Midfielder Niall Holly was detailed to sit deep and screen his defence, but it didn’t happen as wave after wave of men in white and red raced into the danger zone. There were very little positives to glean from a Derry perspective.
Watch the Irish News preview of Sunday's clash at Celtic Park:
That was then and this is now, of course, but lessons will have to have been learnt if they are to stand any chance of springing an upset on Sunday. The early stages are crucial. Meath whistler David Coldrick isn’t generally one to start flashing cards from the first whistle, and there is a common consensus that Derry will try and get in Tyrone’s faces from the off.
That plan comes with a health warning too though. Cavan tried the same in the Division Two final and while they held their own in the first half, that physical exertion told as the minutes passed by. The Red Hands are a team of thoroughbreds, built for the long distance.
Barton admitted he and his management team had been studying Tyrone “microscopically” ahead of tomorrow’s game and, rather than going ultra-defensive as expected, he has named a fairly attacking half-forward line of Shane Heavron and Ciaran McFaul either side of James Kielt.
Danny Heavron is likely to perform the Colm Cavanagh role by dropping deep and protecting the defence, where Gareth McKinless will relish the opportunity to right a few wrongs from the league game if given the job of marking Richard Donnelly.
Karl McKaigue and Ronan O’Neill have enjoyed plenty of battles down the years, right through from school, to minors, to club and now at Ulster Championship level. McKaigue has always more than held his own, and will fancy the job against the in-form St Enda’s, Omagh forward.
Pushing Chrissy McKaigue into midfield is one option Barton may consider if things aren’t going well, as he has the legs and the discipline to curb the lung-busting influence of Mattie Donnelly.
However, that would mean switching Coleraine’s Holly to full-back, and a duel with Sean Cavanagh, and moving the versatile Brendan Rogers out to centre-back. Holly starts at midfield, giving Thomas Mallon someone to aim for if he needs to go down the middle.
Tyrone have also named a fairly attacking team, with the forward-thinking Peter Harte and Niall Sludden in the half-back line, and Cathal McShane and Richard Donnelly either side of Mark Bradley in the half-forwards.
Expect Harte, Sludden and Tiernan McCann to take turns breaking forward, with Mattie Donnelly and Colm Cavanagh holding the fort. As they did at Healy Park, they will aim to lure Derry into their web before forcing turnovers and delivering quick, early ball into the full-forward line.
O’Neill, McAliskey or Sean Cavanagh don’t tend to hold on to the ball too long when the posts are in sight, unless there is the possibility of a goal chance. It is this familiarity with their system, right through from underage to senior level, that tips the balance in favour of Tyrone.
In some of their league games, Derry looked as though they didn’t really know what way they wanted to play, and that was reflected in their results - and some of the high scores put up and conceded.
It is too much to ask a team in transition to step up and bridge such a considerable gap against a group of players who are so well-drilled, and so fluid. Tyrone are favourites for Ulster for a reason, and it would take something really special for Derry to derail that challenge on Sunday afternoon.
