By Michael McMullan

DERRY know what they face this weekend but they are looking at their own performance ahead of Saturday’s Ulster final clash with Antrim in Brewster Park.

It’s a repeat of last year’s final and the recent group game in this year’s competition, both won by the Saffrons.

Derry were comfortable winners over London last weekend to book their place in another final.

Seamus Shivers, who is joint manager with Greg McArdle, was happy with his side’s performance.

Dig into a league campaign that yielded just one victory and you can see an improved Derry group.

Going into Saturday, they simply had to win to ensure a second crack at the champions.

“We played very well in the first 10 or 15 minutes,” Shivers said of their victory over London.

“We got a couple of early scores and it settled us down. Going in at half-time with such a lead (5-9 to 0-1), we knew the game was over really. We threw a few girls in and they all made an impact too.”

One of them was Aine McAllister on her return from injury, and she hit 2-2 to stake a claim for a place this weekend. The Ballerin player hit two goals with her first touches.

“Aine is a top-class player and she’s made it difficult for us,” Shivers added, as the ponder their selection options ahead of Saturday’s final.

There was an injury concern over Clodagh Moore who was forced off in the closing stages.

Pace

Going into last weekend, London were an unknown entity but Shivers was impressed by his Derry’s swift play and how they moved the ball at pace.

“The first half was as good as we played all year,” he added. “I accept that the opposition today isn’t what we’re playing every week but we can only look after ourselves.”

There was contentment at the range of scores and the quality of the defending that was often the source of their counterattacks.

As the dust began to settle on their victory, seven days is a short turnaround to this weekend’s final, with the All-Ireland series then to follow further down the line.

Antrim have been a progressing team. After losing last year’s All-Ireland final, they bounced back to secure promotion from Division Three this season with a late goal against Down.

“We know a fair bit about Antrim and we know they’re a serious outfit,” Shivers said.

“Most of our focus this week will be on ourselves. We should have a lot of confidence but we obviously know it’s going to be a different challenge,” he added, referencing Antrim’s athleticism, power and footballing ability.

“We’ll sit down and we’ll work it out and we’ll give it a good lash next week and you never know.”