Derry hurlers out to better a frustrating year

Review of last year

Preparations for the National League in 2020 were hampered slightly by the absence of the Sleacht Néill players who had spent the winter preparing for their All-Ireland Club semi-final against Ballyhale.

They lost that game and returned to take part in the league campaign with the county.

Conor Kelly told Gaelic Life that the Oak Leafers only had the bare bones in preparation for that game, but bare bones were all they needed to get a win against the team who would be their toughest opponents in the competition.

Cormac O’Doherty was a particularly important returnee from Sleacht Néill as he scored 0-13 in the 1-19 to 0-19 win over Down in the opener. Richie Mullan’s goal was the key score though.

They followed that up with a journey to London, which Derry half -back Kelly told Gaelic Life was not ideal as traveling across the Irish Sea was time consuming and presented a risk of throwing them off their game. They won, however, but not entirely comfortably as they only had two points to spare in the shoot out, 4-15 to 2-19.

They beat Warwickshire in round three, and then Roscommon in round four, and their final league game was against Kildare. A draw or a win would set up a league final against Down. They earned a hard-fought draw over the Lilywhites, 2-16 to 3-13, and that led to a clash with Down.

That match was supposed to have been played in early spring. The pandemic pushed it back to October, and for seven months the Derry hurlers had to sit and wait on their chance to play the league final over Down.

This was a league final that would decide which team would be promoted to Division 2A.

Derry had beaten Down on their three previous meetings heading into this final. However, Down were primed to win, and win they did, as Derry couldn’t handle the Ardsmen’s attacking prowess. Trailing 1-9 to 0-8 at half time, Down added another goal from Pearse Og McCrickard.

It was a day to forget for Derry, and they had to accept another year without promotion.

Manager watch

John McEvoy stuck out the Derry job for two years. He said at one stage that the role demanded 36 hours of travelling every week.

He told the Derry Post that he didn’t mind the travelling because the Oak Leaf hurlers were a committed bunch. However, he departed at the end of the 2020 season, and Dominic McKinley was appointed along with Ballycastle’s Cormac Donnelly. It is not the first time McKinley has been manager. He took the team in the mid 2000s. Former Antrim player McKinley has loads of management experience and most recently coached the Sleacht Néill camogs to All-Ireland success.

Prediction

The reaction of the Derry hurlers will say a lot.

Last year they should have won Division 2B. They played well throughout the league despite the challenges of not having a full squad during their pre-season preparations. Yet when it came to the finish, they couldn’t handle Down.

Defensive issues are perhaps the area that they need to address. However, it is their attitude that new management Dominic McKinley may want to address.

Does this team have the determination to get that promotion that they need so desperately?