By Shaun Casey DUBLIN footballer Ciaran Kilkenny says he has “massive respect” for All-Ireland contenders Derry and like the rest of the country, is excited to watch their clash with Donegal this weekend. Mickey Harte and Jim McGuinness renew their acquisitions on the sideline and Kilkenny, who has played against Derry four times in the […]
DO away with the league finals they said. Nobody wants them they said. There is no room in the calendar they said. Well, anyone who was of that opinion before last weekend’s games will certainly have changed their tune on Monday morning. What we witnessed in Croke Park is everything that is good about our […]
By Michael McMullan DERRY captain Conor Glass believes teams must go “head-to-head” with Dublin as opposed to any cautious approach of sitting back. Speaking after Sunday’s dramatic penalty shootout win over the All-Ireland champions secured a first league title since 2008, Glass commented about the enjoyable nature of the blockbuster. In a week when former […]
THE bad news for the rest of us is that the conservatism that threatened to bring an end to Dublin’s dynasty has been replaced with the adventure that created it in the first place. “Balls out football,” as Pat Gilroy calls it. As we saw on Sunday against Tyrone, Dublin are in annihilation mode. I predicted […]
NFL Division One final Derry v Dublin Sunday, Croke Park, 4pm By Michael McMullan FROM the moment Derry decided to make seven changes to their team ahead of the Dubs’ visit to Celtic Park the interest in a potential rematch in the final ramped up. Now it’s here, when you delve through the noise of […]
WELL, the leagues have finished for all but eight teams who will compete in the finals this weekend. The other 24 teams have had a week off from league fixtures and planning, but it certainly will not have been a week off from county duty as the Championship is rolling around next weekend again. On […]
By Michael McMullan SECONDS into his post-game comments following Sunday’s win over Roscommon, Derry manager Mickey Harte set the scene for their league final showdown with Dublin this weekend. With news of the All-Ireland champions posting 5-18 against his native Tyrone, Harte used the ‘J’ word. “Any day you get to the Division One final, […]
WE had hoped for a super Saturday and super Sunday type situation this weekend where a close eye would be kept on all scores to see who might make the drop and who would potentially make the finals. However, the way the games have gone to date, we know a lot of what will potentially […]
By Michael McMullan DUBLIN manager Dessie Farrell said he can understand Derry’s stance not to go with a full-strength line-up for Saturday’s Celtic Park showdown. The Oakleafers fell to their first defeat of the season after securing their Division One status six days earlier in Salthill. Mickey Harte made seven changes for the visit of […]
BASED on the games that we have seen to date, I don’t think this year’s National Football League has fully caught fire yet. Having said that, it does continue to throw us up blockbusters on a weekly basis. As I glance through the fixtures this weekend, the ones to catch my eye are undoubtedly the clash of […]
