Football

Derry enjoying boom times while Tyrone must face the music after McKenna Cup final loss

Derry captain Shane McGuigan receives the Dr McKenna Cup from Ulster GAA President Ciaran McLaughlin Picture: Philip Walsh
Derry captain Shane McGuigan receives the Dr McKenna Cup from Ulster GAA President Ciaran McLaughlin Picture: Philip Walsh Derry captain Shane McGuigan receives the Dr McKenna Cup from Ulster GAA President Ciaran McLaughlin Picture: Philip Walsh

2023 Dr McKenna Cup Final: Derry 3-11 Tyrone 1-5

THE scene could have come straight out of a comedy sketch show. As Tyrone's joint-manager Brian Dooher tried to make sense to the media of another humiliating hammering by their neighbours, the door to the Derry changing room opposite kept opening – and banging party music boomed out.

Delighted young Derry supporters, having earlier enjoyed a pitch invasion, went in to meet and greet their heroes; smiling Derry players and backroom team strolled out, looking, quite rightly, very pleased with themselves.

The contrast was stark.

Lugubrious and quietly spoken at the best of times, Dooher struggled to make himself heard, although he struggled less so to explain such a shellacking, shocking as it was just 10 days after these teams drew 10 points apiece, with the Red Hands having been five ahead.

This is not the best of times for Tyrone.

Nor for Derry either, but only in the sense that the near future promises even better to come for the Oak Leafers.

After a first Ulster SFC triumph for 24 years last season, a first McKenna Cup in 12 years, achieved by another destruction of their arch-rivals, following on from 2022’s 11-point Championship triumph in Omagh.

Boom boom boom times for Derry.

Some Tyrone supporters may tell themselves – and try to tell others – that 'it doesn't matter'. But a dozen points separating the sides, a dozen wides, are issues of concern, for those of a Red Hand allegiance anyway.

Derry might well have had half a dozen goals instead of 'only' the three their pacy, swashbuckling play plundered in the second half.

Forget 'a game of two halves'; this was a match of four quarters, the two teams having the better of two each – except Derry did far more damage on the scoreboard when they were on top.

The most remarkable aspect of their victory was that they closed it out by outscoring Tyrone 3-4 to 0-1 after the Red Hands had drawn level in the 47th minute.

Against a fierce wind.

Even when Tyrone had the better of the opening quarter, they still trailed by two points to one, that coming from young Liam Nugent of the Rock, and Derry's opening score by Niall Toner might have well have been a goal instead.

The Oak Leafers then stepped up a gear, began running at the Red Hands rear-guard, and reeled off five more scores to establish a healthy-looking half-time lead, 0-7 to 0-1.

Yet that was rapidly reduced, then wiped out, in just over 10 minutes, by a Tyrone team beefed up by the introduction of four big names: goalkeeper Niall Morgan and Peter Harte late in the first half, then Conor Meyler and Cathal McShane brought on for the second half.

The last-named looked really up for it, as he had been in the drawn game, but his initial whirlwind of involvement reaped only one point – and four wides.

The Red Hands did also grab a goal, delightfully and deftly finished off by the outside of Darren McCurry's left boot from a tight angle on the right, having been given the opportunity by a smart interception and run by Michael McKernan.

When Morgan converted a '45' to level matters at 0-7 to 1-4, bringing parity for the first time in half an hour of play, it seemed certain that Tyrone would go on to win their 13th McKenna Cup of the 21st century.

Instead, Morgan and McKernan made errors and Derry punished them in spades.

Rory Gallagher's men started digging themselves out of a difficult-looking situation by getting a goal themselves, as they'd threatened to do on several occasions before the break, only to be denied by brave goalkeeping from Benny Gallen.

The Aghyaran man had been forced off injured after colliding with a post. His replacement, Morgan, has repeatedly proven his own quality, but he didn't need to haul down Brendan Rogers and was well-beaten as Shane McGuigan stylishly slid home the subsequent spot kick.

Paul Cassidy, excellent in an unfamiliar midfield role, had already put Derry back in front, and although a McCurry free then left only three points between the teams, it was the Oak Leafers who quickly bagged another goal.

Conor McCluskey, perhaps tiring of another defensive master-class, sped forward up the left, and supplied Oisin McWilliams to palm in.

Some eyebrows were raised when Rory Gallagher had removed Lachlann Murray from the fray, but the boss later explained that was a precaution against injury – and his substitute, Niall O'Donnell, speedily notched a point and a goal, either side of a black card for McKernan, who clattered McGuigan as Derry swept forward. Padraig McGrogan and Shane McGuigan points completed the rout.

The third quarter 'score' was Derry 1-1, Tyrone 1-3.

That final quarter? Derry 2-3, Tyrone 0-1.

Gallagher was, obviously, delighted with his team's response to that 1-3 spree from Tyrone which had levelled the score for a few minutes:

"We worked really, really hard, were probably disappointed not to have a couple of goals in the first half… we could have had three.

"Darren McCurry took his brilliantly, and that then was a true test – but an awful lot of lads stood up and played really, really well when the game was in the balance….

"Ourselves and Tyrone have quite a historical rivalry, which has been renewed, and I think that's good for football, it's good for Tyrone, and it's good for Derry.

Hmmm.

Dooher, equally obviously, was far from delighted, acknowledging: "We didn't come here thinking this was going to happen, but it did. Fair play to Derry, they really turned it on in the second part of the second half, and we failed to live with them.

"We got level, and we had a chance to push on, and we didn't take it. After that, the game seemed to turn, and the goals came then and that finished off.

"We really worked hard for the first 15 minutes of the second half, and then took the foot off the pedal again, and we paid dearly for it."

For the entire winning margin to be accumulated in that final quarter was embarrassing, and Dooher made no excuses, accepting that "It was very disappointing the way we finished off that game.

"We need to take a good long, hard look at it, for ourselves, both individually and collectively, and what we should do, what can we do, if that situation evolves again.

"We definitely have a bit of work to do on that, there's no doubt about it."

Both counties will have university players to come into contention, while Derry will soon be able to call on their Glen men, new captain Conor Glass, Ethan Doherty, and Emmett Bradley, and last year's skipper Chrissy McKaigue - suspended after his red card in the semi-final win over Down – as well as Shea Downey and Niall Loughlin.

Heading into Division One, there are plenty of doubts about Tyrone's ability to cope in the top flight, although having Darragh and Ruairi Canavan in attack will surely help.

Yet while the Red Hands must face the music for now, Derry may well be hearing more tunes of glory this year.

Derry: O Lynch; E McEvoy, P McGrogan (0-1), C McCluskey; G McKinless, C Doherty, Paudie Cassidy; Paul Cassidy (0-1), B Rogers; B McCarron, N Toner (0-3, 0-1 free), O McWilliams (1-1); B Heron, S McGuigan (capt.) (1-2, 0-1 free, 1-0 penalty), L Murray (0-2).

Substitutes: N O'Donnell (1-1) for Murray (h-t); P McNeill for McWilliams (63); M Doherty for McCarron (69); A Tohill for Heron (72); K Johnston for McGuigan (72).

Tyrone: B Gallen; N McCarron, C Monroe, P Hampsey; P Og McCartan, M McKernan, N Devlin (0-1); B Kennedy, R Donnelly; C Kilpatrick, D Mulgrew, K McGeary; D McCurry (1-1, 0-1 free), M Donnelly, L Nugent (0-1).

Substitutes: N Morgan (0-1 45) for Gallen (28, inj.); P Harte for R Donnelly (30); C Meyler for McCartan (h-t); C McShane (0-1) for M Donnelly (h-t); E McNabb for Nugent (52); F Burns for McGeary (64); N Sludden for McCurry (64).

Black card: McKernan (59-69).

Referee: Conor Dourneen (Cavan)

Attendance: 5,113.