By Michael McMullan

KEVIN Lynch’s manager Davy McCloskey insists their previous two meetings with Sleacht Néill this season will have no relevance to Sunday’s Derry SHC decider.

His side were winners over the champions in the league and were within striking distance at the tail end of a four-point defeat in the championship round-robin series.

“I would take nothing from it (league game) because I counted Sleacht Néill were possibly missing 10 men that night and nobody remembers a good league team,” McCloskey said.

McCloskey was a championship winner in his playing days and also helped take home the Fr Collins Cup as manager. After a stint with underage teams, he is back at the helm this season.

A Stevie O’Neill goal pulled his side back into contention when they crossed paths in a 0-27 to 1-20 group stage defeat in late August.

“We finished strong in that game and we were happy enough with that but we were disappointed in our first half,” McCloskey said.

“Our first half performance was poor. We lacked work-rate, that was the main thing. We were a bit standoffish with Sleacht Néill.

“That will be probably irrelevant come Sunday. We’ll be playing a different Sleacht Néill than we met that day.

“They’ll be smarter from that game as well and probably they’ll have a few players back that maybe didn’t play that day too.”

He pointed to the champions’ strength in depth versus how their own squad, which has been depleted.

McCloskey and his assistant manager Paul Sweeney had a recent look at the number of players they have not been able to call on.

“We counted 15 players off the top of our head that are not in the country that could be playing,” he said.

“From the ‘22 county final, we’ve nearly 15 away between retirements and emigration but you have to keep going on. If one man’s gone another man steps up.”

Kevin Lynch’s booked their place in Sunday’s final thanks to a ruthless 3-3 tally in the final 10 minutes to see off Ballinascreen.

The first goal, from Richie Mullan, started the turn but McCloskey put his finger on why they didn’t pull clear until the closing stages.

“I’m a big believer in work-rate,” he said, highlighting the basic ingredient before anything else comes into the equation.

“Ballinascreen were working far harder than we were and we maybe got lucky at the end and got the scores or we’d have been in serious bother.”

Kevin Lynch’s lead the roll of honour but haven’t been champions since 2011. Swatragh took the
title 12 months later and Sleacht Néill have had their hands on it since.

“There’s now six teams in Derry and there’s very little difference between them,” he added.

“Kevin Lynch’s, Lavey, Ballinascreen, Na Magha, Swatragh and Banagher, on any given day we boys could all beat each other.

“Sleacht Néill are at a different level and probably will be, if I’m being honest, for a couple of years.

“We have a mountain to climb when you are playing against them but we’ll go and give it a rattle

“We have to perform to our best to win the match and Sleacht Néill need to have an off day.

“If Sleacht Néill turn up and they’re on good form, they’ll be damn hard to beat.”