Football

Derry can pop Cork to extend League winning streak into double figures

Chrissy McKaigue could return for Derry to take on Cork in Division Two again on Sunday, this time at Owenbeg. <br />Picture Margaret McLaughlin
Chrissy McKaigue could return for Derry to take on Cork in Division Two again on Sunday, this time at Owenbeg.
Picture Margaret McLaughlin
Chrissy McKaigue could return for Derry to take on Cork in Division Two again on Sunday, this time at Owenbeg.
Picture Margaret McLaughlin

Allianz Football League Division Two, round three: Derry v Cork (Owenbeg, 1pm Sunday)

A COMING force against an awakening giant. Hosts Derry can, weather permitting, deliver another damaging blow to Cork's chances of returning to the top flight while improving their own already high hopes.

The Oak Leafers sit atop the table, ahead of Galway and Roscommon on scoring difference, and arguably have had their two easiest fixtures, beating both Down and Offaly.

Yet there's no denying that Derry are the form team, not just in this league season but going back more than a year. Indeed a win tomorrow would take Rory Gallagher's men into double figures for consecutive league wins, after two at the tail-end of the 2020 Division Three campaign, five in the truncated League last year, and two so far in 2022.

Factor in that their two Championship defeats over the past two seasons have come by just two points against Armagh and only one - unluckily - against Donegal, and it's clear that Derry are on the rise.

The much-travelled Gallagher is an excellent coach and he's moulding a pile of terrific talent into a very promising team.

The one and only Championship meeting between these counties, the 1993 All-Ireland SFC Final, will never be forgotten, at least not in Derry, but League meetings are fairly rare too.

The Rebels have had the better of recent tussles, winning four out of five since 2010, including a 3-13 to 3-11 success in 2020 which helped them to promotion from Division Three while Derry were unfortunate to miss out on elevation due to their head-to-head record against Down.

Derry's only win among those match-ups proved ultimately fruitless. They beat Cork by 2-15 to 1-11 in round seven of the 2015 Division One but still ended up relegated while the Rebels topped the table.

As evidenced by that aforementioned Division Three meeting in 2020, both counties slumped after that 2015 match, Derry even dropping down into Division Four, playing at that level in the 2019 campaign.

Damian McErlain kick-started the revival, although Derry should never have sunk so low.

For all that they punch above their weight in relation to their population, the quality of footballers in the county should always keep them in the top two divisions.

Derry will surely maintain that status this year but they're quite rightly aiming higher.

Gallagher has a reputation for playing defensive football, and he certainly hasn't let that side of things slip. Derry have conceded just four goals in those nine league victories in a row, two of those against Cavan in the third and final group game last year when the Oak Leafers had already assured themselves of a semi-final place by thrashing both Longford and Fermanagh. They didn't concede a goal against Armagh or Donegal in those Championship losses either.

Even more impressively, those nine victories have come by a cumulative margin of 74 points, winning by an average of more than eight points, with an average score for of just over 19 points (12-137 in total).

Cork, despite going up to this level for 2021, are behind on that development curve, and now under the new management of former U20 boss Keith Ricken.

Having lost their league opener in Roscommon, the Rebels laboured to a home draw with Munster rivals Clare, so will be desperate for a first win of the campaign.

However, Derry must be confident, and favoured to triumph. Chrissy McKaigue is expected to return to an otherwise unchanged team, possibly at the expense of Lavey prospect Shea Downey. The Slaughtneil man's experience will bolster that already impressive defence, where Ciaran McFaul can perform superbly as an attack-launching number six, especially with Gareth McKinless still out with a minor injury.

Shane McGuigan and Niall Loughlin are the cutting edge in attack but there is obviously plenty of scoring support, and the midfield of Conor Glass and Emmet Bradley is so good that Padraig Cassidy hasn't started a League game yet.

The Rebels' main threat up front remains Brian Hurley, but newcomer Blake Murphy has shown up well and the visitors will aim to give the Buckleys chances, with Mark and David in the corner-forward slots.

Cork are the last team to inflict a football league defeat on Derry. That won't change tomorrow, but nor should the Oak Leafers' 100 per cent Division Two record.