Allianz Football League Division Three: Longford v Derry (tomorrow, 2pm, Pearse Park)
IF there is anything on this earth guaranteed to send an unhealthy lashing of sweat pouring down the backs of a nervous Derry supporter, it is the sight of anything to do with Longford.
For most of eternity their paths have seldom crossed, with Derry enjoying the relative luxury of the upper half of the National League pyramid for a while, as Longford have found themselves stuck in the slums of the bottom tiers.
Yet come summertime, they had three championship meetings in eight years between 2006 and 2014, and Longford won the three of them.
The sunshine shootout in 2006 still stands out; a day when Paddy Bradley scored 2-7 and still ended up on the losing team six weeks after Derry had beaten reigning All-Ireland champions Tyrone in Omagh.
There was somewhat less surprise after their 2012 victory against a Derry side that had changed almost beyond the point of recognition from the previous year’s team that had reached an Ulster final.
But 2014 was another huge shock as Brian Kavanagh’s intelligence on the edge of the square helped rip the heart out of Brian McIver’s men after they’d reached a Division One final and run eventual All-Ireland finalists Donegal to within a kick of a ball.
While the Derry side has changed, changed and changed again since 2006, there’s a sense that only now is this finally a brand new Longford side thanks to the post-season retirements of long-serving trio Kavanagh, Dermot Brady and Diarmuid Masterson.
If there were fears about the long-term impact of those losses, they went a fair way towards dispelling them on the opening day, lacing 3-18 past Offaly in Tullamore to claim a surprisingly convincing win.
It is tempered by the reality that Offaly were lucky to survive last year and it’s distinctly possible they will not do so this term, but nonetheless it will have given comfort to Denis Connerton as he embarks on the complete integration of the 2010 Leinster minor winning team.
They also had a brush with the All-Ireland minor series in 2015, when they had none other than Damian McErlain’s Derry on the ropes in Enniskillen only to fall away late on.
On that occasion it was Conor Berry who proved a handful for the Oak Leaf defence and he was one of the Longford goalscorers from centre-forward last week, while the inside line of Robbie Smyth, Sean McCormack and Russel Brady contributed 2-14 between them, all but 0-4 of it from play.
Terence O’Brien getting 20 minutes of Sigerson football on Wednesday after recovering from an ankle knock was a boost for Derry, and he could come into the attack after having been named to start last weekend, while Benny Heron is also expected to be fit to rejoin the squad.
Mark Lynch could play a more prominent role than the last 20 minutes he got in Celtic Park, but otherwise there is unlikely to be much change to how they line up.
The 2-14 they scored last weekend would have been enough to win most games but the concession of 2-17, and the general leakiness of the defence in the early weeks of the sense, will be starting to draw concern.
If you believe in bogey teams then a home win is one for the coupon, but Derry showed enough in terms of attack and dig-in last weekend to feel they can ignore the omens.
