The Irish News: Friday May 7 2010: Cassidy remains calm
DERRY’S recent Championship record certainly doesn’t make for pleasant reading for any Oak Leaf fan.
The county have not secured back-to-back wins in Ulster since 2000 when they reached the final, only to lose to Armagh 1-12 to 1-11.
Since that 2000 final appearance, every other Ulster county has reached the provincial showpiece.
However, the Oak Leafers were the last county outside of Armagh and Tyrone to lift the Anglo-Celt Cup, back in 1998.
With those stats in mind, it’s hardly surprising that Damian Cassidy was unwilling to make any bold predictions ahead of Derry’s Championship opener against Armagh at Celtic Park on Sunday week.
“I am not going to do ‘a Mourinho’,” Cassidy told the media at Derry’s press night at Owenbeg.
“I'm not going to say that this year is going to be any different than last, I'm not going to put my head on the block like that.
“But, at the same time,I have confidence in the players we have and I have great belief in them.”
Cassidy may not be the publicity junkie that the Inter Milan boss is, but he still did a remarkable impression of Tottenham boss Harry Redknapp when he insisted all the pressure is on Armagh next Sunday.
Earlier this week, Redknapp claimed that all the pressure was on Manchester City ahead of their crunch English Premier League tie at Eastlands on Wednesday night.
Spurs won the game 1-0.
Minus the flashy suit and cockney accent, the Derry boss said that the onus is on the Orchard county to repeat their recent Croke Park heroics.
** FOUR of the Donegal team beaten in last week’s All-Ireland U21 final have been drafted into the county senior football squad for the Ulster Championship by manager John Joe Doherty.
Paddy McGrath, Kevin Mulhern, Dermot Molloy and Mark McHugh all featured in the loss to Dublin at Kingspan Breffni Park last Saturday.
They join fellow U21 stars Michael Murphy and Leo McLoone in the senior panel.
Donegal, who host Down in Ballybofey on May 30, will continue their Championship preparations with a challenge match against Mayo in Glenfin tonight.
BIRTHDAYS
Brian Kilcline (soccer) - former Coventry defender, captain and FA Cup winner, born 1962.
Norman Whiteside (soccer) - former Manchester United and Northern Ireland star, born 1965.
Ian Pearce (soccer) - former Blackburn, West Ham and Fulham defender, born 1974.
Ashley Cowan (cricket) - former Essex seamer, who toured the West Indies with England in 1998, born 1975.
Andrea Lo Cicero (rugby union) - Former Racing prop who was capped for Italy 103 times, born 1976.
Youri Tielemans (soccer) - Leicester midfielder, born 1997.
QUICK QUIZ
1. Who is Arsenal's record goalscorer in the Premier League?
2. Who are the reigning All-Ireland Senior Club Football champions?
Full-time highlights of Corofin (Galway) v Kilcoo (Down) in the 2020 AIB Senior Club Football Final
[ https://twitter.com/i/status/1218963700658462720Opens in new window ]
3. Which goalkeeper scored four goals in Paraguay's qualification for the 2002 FIFA World Cup?
4. Which golf major is the only one Rory McIlroy has not won?
5. Which English League Two side play their home games at Home Park?
6. Sidney Crosby, Alexander Ovechkin and Connor McDavid are big names in which North American major league?
7. Which racehorse won last week's virtual running of the Kentucky Derby?
8. Who are the reigning Olympic champions at men's rugby sevens?
9. Who did Italy beat in the semi-finals of the 1994 World Cup in the United States?
10. Who in professional boxing is known as 'The Gypsy King'?
(See quiz answers at bottom)
ON THIS DAY
1900: Worcestershire bowled Yorkshire out for just 99 in a County Championship match at Bradford but still went on to lose by an innings as they were bowled out for 43 and 51.
1921: The Second Division game between Stockport and Leicester attracted just 13 spectators to Old Trafford - the lowest crowd on record for a Football League match.
1990: Lancashire scored 863 runs in a county game against Surrey at The Oval, only 24 short of the Championship record set 94 years earlier.
2000: Manchester City netted four second-half goals to win promotion from Division One at Blackburn.
2006: Tottenham failed to qualify for the Champions League following a 2-1 defeat to West Ham, after many of their first team went down with food poisoning.
2008: Declan Kidney was confirmed as Ireland rugby union's new head coach.
2009: Graham Onions made a dream debut for England at Lord's, taking three wickets in a single over and five in the innings as the West Indies were bowled out for 152.
2011: Golfer Seve Ballesteros died at the age of 54 after a lengthy battle with brain cancer.
2012: Ronnie O'Sullivan won the Snooker World Championship for a fourth time after beating Ali Carter 18-11 in the final at the Crucible in Sheffield.
2014: Swansea appointed Garry Monk as their permanent manager after a spell in caretaker charge.
2016: Leicester were presented with the Premier League trophy after beating Everton 3-1 at the King Power Stadium.
2017: Blackburn became the first Premier League winners to be relegated to League One while Newcastle secured the Championship title on the final day.
2018: Mark Williams won the Snooker World Championship with an 18-16 victory over John Higgins at the Crucible in Sheffield.
2019: Liverpool beat Barcelona 4-0 at Anfield to complete a stunning 4-3 aggregate victory in the semi-final of the Champions League.
QUICK QUIZ answers: 1. Thierry Henry; 2. Corofin of Galway; 3. Jose Luis Chilavert; 4. The Masters; 5. Plymouth; 6. National Hockey League; 7. Secretariat; 8. Fiji; 9. Bulgaria; 10. Tyson Fury
