By Michael McMullan

DERRY hurlers run out at Croke Park on Saturday aiming to end their search for an elusive first Christy Ring Cup title.

It will be their fifth final in six seasons and a repeat of the 2015 decider won by Kerry.

It will be a third meeting of the counties this year. Kerry were comfortable winners earlier in the season when they crossed paths in the league.

Derry turned the tables in the Christy Ring Cup group stage. Kerry had already booked their place in the final, with Derry needing victory to join them.

Despite being eight points down, Derry dug themselves back into contention thanks to five points from Déaglán Foley.

They still needed goals from Shéa Cassidy and Joe Mulholland to totally turn the game on its head.

It was enough to take Johnny McGarvey’s side back to the place they craved from the days after losing last season’s final to London.

After the pain of the Croke Park tunnel and the emptiness that comes from defeat, getting back to a final can feel like a million miles away.

“You can only ever give yourself that opportunity to get back there,” Foley said, seated in the canteen at Derry’s training base in Owenbeg, eight days out from their showdown with Kerry.

“The management are obviously putting plans together and it’s up to us to bring Derry hurling up to a certain standard as well.”

In the days after last year’s final, the Derry squad spent time in each other’s company. A time to unwind, to bring the curtain down on the season and to park their disappointment.

“That disappointment of last year was quickly reset after a few beers,” Foley said.

“There was already talk of next year after last year. I know people probably say that in a lot of interviews, but there genuinely was.

“We gave ourselves the opportunity to get back there and we took it last weekend (by beating Kerry) and hopefully we go one step further.”

Derry’s season has been a story of any disappointment being backed up with a positive response.

After relegation on the last day of the league, the Oakleafers stormed into the Christy Ring Cup before a speed wobble saw them lose to Wicklow in Aughrim.

A victory over Donegal took them into a blockbuster with Meath in Trim. From the depths of despair, they found themselves a point up before having to be content with a draw after a late equaliser.

Trilogy

That’s why the second instalment of their trilogy with Kerry was win or bust.

“The vibe itself, particularly after last weekend, has been really, really good,” Foley said.

“The boys are hopping into training, looking forward to each session. There’s good cohesion, there’s good camaraderie amongst the team as well, which is always ideal. I think the boys are just really looking forward to it now.”

Foley was quick to play down his own performances that have elevated him to third in the team’s top scorer chart with 1-39. The Na Magha man credits the efforts all over the pitch.

It links into the togetherness that has helped them battle out of tight corners. It’s something they’ll need again on Saturday with the Kingdom tipped to take some the silver before the ball was struck in the competition.

“It’s definitely coming from within,” Foley points out of their collective grit.

“There are good characters in the dressing room and everybody gets on with everybody. There’s great cohesion amongst us.

“I also feel that, throughout the entire year, looking at every game, we were unlucky with a lot of the games. A ball here or there goes our way, and it’s probably different results.”

LAST TIME…Patrick Turner is closed down in last year’s Christy Ring Cup final defeat to London

Without mentioning specific games, there was a questionable decision that led to a narrow league defeat in Meath. It was the same in the Wicklow game in the Christy Ring Cup.

“We had the disappointment of the league; one or two results could’ve gone our way and we’d have stayed in the division,” Foley said.

“I think we’ve really got the grips of things, coming off the back of the league and we pushed on through the Christy Ring Cup.

“I think throughout each phase of the Christy Ring we’ve gotten better and better.”

While the Wicklow defeat could’ve derailed their chances of being in the Croke Park conversation this week, it was time to move on. By training on the Tuesday, all eyes were on the crunch Donegal game.

“A couple of lads in previous interviews had said that we’d just parked it on the bus on the way back up,” Foley added about the spin north from Aughrim.

“Now it was a fairly silent bus on the way back up as well. We knew we’d done ourselves a disservice.

“Historically, I think we aren’t great against Wicklow either. Though we said not to let that (losing to Wicklow) affect us, we probably did to a certain extent.

“We came back up the road and it was a hard reset on the Tuesday night, knowing exactly what we had to do the following week against Donegal.”

It was time for some home truths mixed in with a delved into the video clips. Every day is a school day, as they say.

“We knew we weren’t anywhere near the level that was capable of winning the competition, never mind beating Wicklow on the day,” Foley added.

Saturday is the final day of the season. A second title for Kerry or a first for Derry? That’s it. Foley want’s the latter. That’s obvious, but they need their performance of the season.

“Croke Park is obviously a dream for every GAA player going down and we need to take that next step,” he summed up.

“In terms of how we do it. We need to bring another level even to what we brought the last time against Kerry.

“They are going to go two or three gears above what they brought in the last game and they’re more than capable of it.

“Maybe we got them on an off day but we’ll go out again, the same as the last time, like it’s the last 70 minutes of the year.

“We’ll go out and try our absolute best. The five or six lads that come on from the bench will hopefully have a big impact as well and hopefully we get the job done.”