Football

Odds on another Glen-Slaughtneil final in Derry

Eamon McGill poked home a late goal for Lavey in last year's semi-final to take Slaughtneil to extra-time but the Emmet's powered through. The sides meet again tomorrow evening in Owenbeg. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin
Eamon McGill poked home a late goal for Lavey in last year's semi-final to take Slaughtneil to extra-time but the Emmet's powered through. The sides meet again tomorrow evening in Owenbeg. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin Eamon McGill poked home a late goal for Lavey in last year's semi-final to take Slaughtneil to extra-time but the Emmet's powered through. The sides meet again tomorrow evening in Owenbeg. Picture by Margaret McLaughlin

O’Neills Derry SFC semi-finals

Slaughtneil v Lavey

Tomorrow, 6.45pm, Owenbeg

IF it’s not to be back-to-back Glen-Slaughtneil finals in Derry then the upset will most likely have to come tomorrow. For that to happen, Lavey would have to find a level they haven’t hit this season.

Gradually they’ve improved as this championship has gone on. They were more impressive against Steelstown than the five-point margin suggests and how there were only six in it at the end against Ballinderry was a mystery.

This is such a hard one to call because we don’t really know where either side is at.

Lavey have been doing enough whereas Slaughtneil haven’t had to dip into their reserves yet. They cruised in the group and comfortably fended off Swatragh last weekend. Some things they’ve done well, some things they haven’t, but it’s all been under very little duress.

When these sides met at this stage last year, Lavey had won a group stage meeting earlier in the year. Slaughtneil learned a lot from it. Eamon McGill poked home in a goalmouth scramble to earn Lavey extra-time in the semi-final but they’d been second best for 59 minutes before then and were second best for the 20 that followed.

Lavey’s cycle is not as brand new as just the evolution of the new Downeys and McGurks and Duggans. They’ve eight men still starting from the 2018 final.

Individually they’ll have improved since last year. Physically, too. It was noted that night that when many thought Lavey’s younger legs would carry them, they lost four players to cramp in extra-time while Slaughtneil ploughed on.

What impressed against Ballinderry was how they didn’t get drawn into the game the Shamrocks wanted to play. Lavey kept the ball out of contact and used their pace at the right time to pull apart the cover. They won well.

Time will naturally narrow the gap they’re trying to close and in last year’s county final, time looked to be making ground on the Emmet’s. Glen cut them for pace.

Paul Bradley’s side haven’t had a chance to answer any of the lingering questions from that afternoon yet because their run to here has been so comfortable.

Jerome McGuigan and Ruairi Ó Mianáin have given them some freshness, with Sé McGuigan winning his spot back. Getting 60 minutes out of Padraig Cassidy against Swatragh was massive too.

Lavey need Conor Mulholland to get to grips with Shane McGuigan, and for whichever match-up they go with on Christopher Bradley to come off better than last year. That pair did most of the damage and will do so again if the clampers aren’t put on.

Slaughtneil have the best one-to-one defenders in Derry and enough scoring threat to get out of this battle again.

Glen v Newbridge

Tonight, 6.45pm, Owenbeg

PEOPLE in Derry really do rate this Newbridge team. They have a lot of the hallmarks of being a very good side.

But what everyone would say is that they’re just missing that one, real top-quality out-and-out scoring forward that would potentially turn them into a championship winning team.

They’ll line up in Owenbeg this evening as huge underdogs against the reigning county champions. Can you say honestly that Glen have that forward?

If they do, he’s spending a lot more time on the bench than they’d need him to be. Alex Doherty was only introduced late on again in the quarter-final win over Magherafelt. He’s their nearest thing to a Shane McGuigan.

Glen have good forwards and plenty of them, but if the fear in Newbridge is missing that one chief scorer, they’re maybe looking up the wrong tree.

Newbridge are good on the fringes but Glen won a county title last year because they’re brilliant on the fringes. Newbridge’s strengths are Glen’s strengths, and Glen’s strengths are stronger.

When you match the teams up on paper, Glen would feel settled. Michael Warnock is absolutely tailor-made for Conor McAteer. Either Tiarnan Flanagan or Cathal Mulholland would be well suited to Mark Doherty, scorer of 1-2 the last day. Ryan Dougan, outstanding against Magherafelt, will fancy himself against Jude Diamond.

If Newbridge can’t win two out of those three battles then really, they can’t win the game. For all the tactics, it always comes back to individuals. When it was asked of Glen last year to stand up with big performances, some of their lesser lights did that.

Malachy O’Rourke’s side have felt their way to the last four. In the two games where they were squeezed, against Swatragh and Magherafelt, it took them the first half to find the measure of it and their second half performances were superb.

Jack Doherty’s reintroduction at centre-forward gave their attacking play such a different spark last Sunday night. The big question is whether they stick with Stevie O’Hara, who scored their goal against the Rossa, or bring Alex Doherty back in.

The interchangeability of O’Hara and Emmett Bradley, who switched between midfield and full-forward, could give O’Hara the edge.

Conor Doherty has had a huge attacking influence from midfield for the ‘Bridge but the worry is they potentially need him in the half-back division to pick up either namesake, Ethan or Jack.

31 years after their last county final appearance, this is a great position for Newbridge to be in. There ought to be more semi-finals for them given their age profile, but a final is beyond them here.