Allianz National Football League Division Two round three: Derry 2-15 Meath 1-7
COLM O’Rourke’s post-match assessment of Meath’s desperately passive display in Owenbeg might have been markedly different had he been sitting in the RTE studios rather than braving the elements on the sidelines on Saturday night.
After back-to-back wins over Cork and Clare, which yielded seven goals, this was a chastening defeat for O’Rourke and his Meath players.
Like they did against Limerick in Owenbeg on the opening day of the National League season, Derry wiped the floor with their visitors.
Make no mistake: Derry are in great shape for mid-February, they’re moving well all over the pitch while there’s a lovely slickness about their attacking play – but Meath never tested their hosts' mental or tactical resolve at any stage of a painfully one-sided tie.
And, if awaiting reporters were expecting clenched fists and a tightening jaw from O'Rourke afterwards, they would have left the north Derry venue disappointed.
“It’s been a harsh lesson for us in what top level football is about," said a very relaxed O'Rourke.
“It was great to get two wins from two games but we knew there were always going to be bumps on the road, but even though we suffered a major setback tonight I’m confident that the lads will learn from it. They are very committed and I’d be very disappointed if we don’t have a positive performance against Louth next week.
“That’s what football against a top four team is about and we’re still a long way off from it.”
The writing was probably on the wall for Meath as early as the first minute when the hugely impressive Ethan Doherty of Glen waltzed through the right side of the visiting defence to plant the ball in the net.
And in first-half stoppage-time, Niall Toner showed his nimbleness and confidence by picking his spot with his left foot to raise another green flag that completely demoralised Meath as they trailed at the break 2-7 to 0-3.
“I don’t know what was wrong,” O’Rourke mused outside the Meath changing room.
“The guys seemed to be fazed a little bit by it, but that’s part of the learning process. I know all about bad performances in my early days with Meath, so I won’t be too hard on the lads.
“From start to finish, we were poor in a lot of our play and our ability to break down their mass defence was not good, even though we put a lot of work in during the week. We knew exactly what to expect but we didn’t seem to get men in front of the ball, we didn’t seem to get runners coming at pace like Derry did.
“But you’re not going to build a team in a couple of months; this is a long process… Maybe tonight was probably a more accurate reflection of where we are at that moment.”
Despite the ever animated Rory Gallagher being occasionally dismayed on the side-lines at the slightest mistake, the Derry manager must know his team are in a good headspace right now.
For starters, every Derry fan can pick Gallagher’s strongest XV these days.
New full-back Eoin McEvoy continues to impress, not just by ‘minding the house’ but also with his eye-catching forays into enemy territory.
Chrissy McKaigue, withdrawn in the 59th minute to protect a niggling hamstring, put Meath's renowned goal-getter Donal Lenihan under house arrest.
Conor Doherty put in a brilliant defensive shift and speedster Conor McCluskey always enlivened the night when he burst ahead of the ball as Derry transitioned.
With Gareth McKinless missing due to a hamstring strain, Padraig McGrogan moved in from the wing and was man-of-the-match at centre half-back.
In midfield, Conor Glass and Brendan Rogers dovetail exquisitely.
Further forward, Paul Cassidy doesn’t do bad games for Derry these days, the Bellaghy schemer chipping in with three points from play against Meath on Saturday night.
Shane McGuigan’s scoring prowess is undisputed but some of his assist play on Saturday night was of the highest order, while Benny Heron and Ethan Doherty have the brain power and quick feet to get out of any tight corner they find themselves in and kept the scoreboard moving for Derry.
Indeed, Meath only got their goal – through Thomas O’Reilly in the 51st minute – during an enforced defensive re-shuffle from Derry due to a blood substitution that saw McKaigue temporarily replaced.
The home side responded to Meath having the temerity to raise a green flag by rattling off the next five points to ram home the gulf in class between themselves and their visitors.
Meath had no idea what to do when they reached Derry’s half of the field and were equally clueless in trying to deal with the home side's counter-attacks.
Like Galway last season, Derry are a top flight outfit masquerading as a Division Two team – but Gallagher was mindful of how their promotion bid unravelled at the hands of the Tribesmen 11 months ago.
“Any day you beat Meath as comfortable as we did, it’s a good sign of progress,” said the Derry manager.
“But, look, there’s a small bit of Déjà vu – we were here last year and didn’t capitalise. So we’ll never look too far ahead. If you’re going to perform at a very high level, you have to do things well consistently – and that’s the challenge for us.”
Derry: O Lynch; C McKaigue, E McEvoy (0-1), C McCluskey; C Doherty, P McGrogan (0-2, 0-1 ’45), Padraig Cassidy; C Glass, B Rogers; N Toner (1-0), Paul Cassidy (0-3), E Doherty (1-2); B Heron (0-3, 0-1 mark), S McGuigan (0-3), N Loughlin Subs: O McWilliams (0-1) for C McKaigue (59), S Downey for E Doherty (61), M Downey for B Heron (66), L Murray for N Loughlin (69), P McNeill for C Glass (69)
Blood substitution: O McWilliams for C McKaigue (50-54)
Meath: H Hogan; A O’Neill, M Flood, H O’Higgins; J O’Connor, D Keogan, C Hickey; R Jones (0-1), B Conlan (0-1); C O’Sullivan, J Scully, D Campion; J Morris, D Lenihan (0-2, 0-1 free), T O’Reilly (1-1) Subs: S, Crosby for D Campion (h/t), D McGowan for B Conlan (h/t), D Moriarty (0-1) for D Lenihan (48), E Harkin for H O’Higgins (54), A Lynch (0-1 free) T O’Reilly (58)
Yellow card: J Morris (65)
Blood substitution: S Crosby for C O’Sullivan (15-18)
Referee: L Devenney (Mayo)
