EirGrid All-Ireland Minor Football Championship semi-final: Derry v Dublin (tomorrow, Croke Park, 2pm, live on TG4)
AFTER two years of persistent knocking at the door, Derry minors will attempt to push through it and make a definitive breakthrough at national level when they take on Dublin tomorrow afternoon.
The Oak Leaf county side copper-fastened their status as Ulster’s best at this level by adding this year’s minor title to their success in 2015. The county were also provincial finalists last year when, as in 2015, Kerry stopped their march for an All-Ireland title.
The Kingdom, Ireland’s minor superpower and chasing four in-a-row this year, are already in the final and Derry most see off a talented Dublin outfit to join them there.
Damian McErlain’s side amassed impressive scoring totals to see off Tyrone, Antrim and perennial rivals Cavan in Ulster before squeaking past Sligo in the All-Ireland quarter-final three weeks’ ago.
Meanwhile, Tom Gray’s young Dubs haven’t conceded a goal since their championship campaign got off to a nightmare start against Meath in the first round in Leinster.
They found themselves 1-10 to 0-3 behind but staged a Lazarusesque recovery to force extra-time and ultimately won the game by two points.
Since then goalkeeper David O’Hanlon has kept three consecutive clean sheets as the Dubs – driven on by potent forwards James Doran, Ross McGarry and Sean Hawkshaw – have put Kildare, Louth (in the Leinster final) and Clare (at the All-Ireland quarter-final stage) to the sword, scoring 5-46 and conceding 36 points.
The Dubs are a big side, but Derry can match them in that regard and they also have their scoring stars. Patrick Quigg – a goalscorer against Kerry last season - has notched 13 points so far and Swatragh’s Oisin McWilliams has weighed in with 2-11. The supporting cast includes McWilliams’ twin brother Lorcan, Bellaghy’s Declan Cassidy (Magherafelt’s MacRory Cup-winning skipper), Richie Mullan and Ben McCarron.
At the back, Magherafelt’s Conor McCluskey has emerged as a tenacious man-marker and could be sent to pick up Doran or McGarry today.
Both sides have aces up their sleeves and McErlain, who saw Dublin against Meath and Kildare, has no doubt what will ultimately decide tomorrow’s game.
“Quality,” he says.
“Both teams will have their gameplan and it’s being able to execute that on the day.
“Our boys hopefully will rise to the occasion. They’ve been a mature group all year and I’m hoping it’s the same again on Sunday – obviously it’s Croke Park and it’s a big thrill for the lads to get playing in it but as a team we know it’s the same dimensions as Clones and we have prospered there in that sort of open space with the running power we have.
“We want to bring that to the game and the last time we played (against Sligo in the All-Ireland quarter-final) we didn’t take our chances so we have a lot to work on.”
McErlain is convinced that if Derry play to their potential, they can get past the Dubs and book that final showdown with three in-a-row chasing Kerry.
His side has developed since their first outing against Tyrone in Ulster and the Magherafelt clubman – now experienced after three years at the helm - has a fully fit squad at his disposal tomorrow.
“We have a very strong squad,” he said.
“I’d have no hesitation in starting some of the guys that aren’t even in the 24 and that’s no exaggeration. In a number of our games we have brought lads in and they’ve given us an absolute lift in the last 15-20 minutes.
“The boys work well together as a squad and they take the squad ethos pretty well – everybody wants to start and one of the cruellest things is having to pick the 15 and then pick the 24 but generally they have bought into it.
“The modern game is having that impetus coming on with 15-20 minutes to go and hopefully that’ll be the case again on Sunday.”
Derry have put in the groundwork at provincial level and, if they are going to make the big breakthrough, tomorrow is certainly their time. The Oak Leaf county haven’t been in a final since 2007, while the Dubs’ last success came back in 2012.
Minor football is always difficult to call and both sides will have to cope with a raucous atmosphere in Croke Park since the game is sandwiched between Tyrone v Offaly in the U17 final and Dublin v Tyrone in the senior semi.
The team that handles that pressure and produces their best football will win and Derry, with the experience on the field and in the dugout, should be able to force a victory and book another showdown with the Kingdom.
