Christy Ring Cup final
Derry 1-21 Meath 1-23
DERRY hurlers died with their boots on in Saturday’s Christy Ring Cup final after coming back from a 13-point deficit only to leave Croke Park full of regret and frustration.
Johnny McGarvey’s side were seven points in arrears before Sean Kelly hit their first point in the 12th minute.
Despite a mini-revival, the Oaks were 10 points in arrears at half-time before Nicholas Potterton sped clear to bag Meath’s 38th-minute goal.
“We are devastated at ourselves at how poorly we played for 40 minutes,” McGarvey said. “We sat down at half-time, we worked it out and then we conceded the goal.”
Derry’s purple patch of an unanswered 1-5 tally inside 10 second-half minutes wrestled them back into contention.
Meath had looked so comfortable for so long, but couldn’t halt Derry’s wave despite a second booking for Sean Cassidy.
Paddy Kelly made three interceptions in a row to propel the Ulster men onto the front foot before late points from Segdae Melaugh and Cormac O’Doherty had Derry back to a point with two minutes of stoppage-time remaining.
Derry were hurling like men possessed, but Meath won the puck-out and when Jack Regan was fouled, he arrowed over the insurance point.
It was a shoot-out between Regan and O’Doherty who popped scores from all angles at ranges, both a joy to watch.
Meath started with James Toher back as a sweeper and they made the most of the extra space up front when Éamon Ó Donnchadha had the ball over the bar after 25 seconds.
Derry did have chances, including a sniff of goal when Corey O’Reilly’s pulled effort was blocked by goalkeeper Ennis.
Ó Donnchadha, Regan, Potterton and James Kelly all shot Meath into a seven-point lead. There was a ruthless streak that saw every mistake and wayward pass punished.
O’Doherty fired over six frees but Meath were 0-17 to 0-7 ahead by half time.
“We needed half-time,” McGarvey added. “We hadn’t hurled at all. We needed to sort out a few things on our puck-out and our defending. They were getting shots away far too easy.”
An O’Doherty free brought the first score of the second half before Potterton latched onto a long Ennis puck-out. After racing clear, he dispatched to the net and Derry were in all sorts of trouble.
“We knew momentum was going to be everything,” McGarvey said of his side’s spirited comeback. “We knew there was going to be a stage in the second half when we were going to have it and it was going to be about the damage we could do.”
O’Doherty – who pushed further ahead in the second half – and Meehaul McGrath grafted at midfield.
Sean Francis Quinn, James Friel and Paddy Kelly made vital interceptions as Derry pulled themselves back into contention.
John Mullan and Segdae Melaugh began to find room with their side’s increased energy. Momentum is the most powerful of tools.
O’Doherty hit two frees midway through the half before he drilled a close-range free to the net in the 52nd minute making the score 1-20 to 1-12.
Derry didn’t stop there. The hunger continued the and red wave kept surging towards the Davin end despite having to play the remaining 12 minutes of the game with 14 men after Sean Cassidy’s second questionable yellow card of a sporting game.
O’Doherty kept working his magic with some of his frees landed from inside his own 65 and when Melaugh scored, there was just a single point between the sides.
Regan edged the gap to two points with his final free of the day. Despite close to two minutes of stoppages within the allocated four minutes, referee Kevin Jordan told Cormac O’Doherty his 74th-minute free was the last action before calling time seconds later before the sliotar had gone dead and it was heartbreak for Derry.
Derry O O’Doherty; SF Quinn, M Craig, P Kelly; Richie Mullan; S Cassidy, J Friel; C O’Doherty (1-14f), M McGrath; E Conway, C O’Reilly (0-2), D McGilligan; S Kelly (0-1), J Mullan (0-2), P Cleary
Subs S Melaugh (0-1) for S Kelly (INJ 13), E Cassidy for E Conway (32), P Nelis (0-1) for P Cleary (48), C O’Kane for D McGilligan (60),
Yellow cards S Cassidy (10, 62), M McGrath (30)
Red card S Cassidy (62)
Meath C Ennis; M Burke, S Brennan, B McKeon; J Toher; N McLarnon, S Geraghty (0-1), S Ennis (0-1); P Ryan (0-1), M Healy (0-1); É Ó Donnchadha (0-3), J Kelly (0-1); S Morris, J Regan (0-14, 11f), N Potterton (1-1)
Subs G Dwane for S Geraghty (blood sub 11, reversed 21), A Gannon for S Morris (HT), G Dwane for P Ryan (52), P O’Hanrahan for S Brennan (52), M O’Sullivan for J Kelly (64), J Murray for É Ó Donnchadha (67)
Yellow card S Brennan (49)
Referee K Jordan (Tipperary)
