Meenagh says Derry eyes are locked on Cavan visit

DERRY must beat Cavan on Sunday if they are to have any chance of making a return to Division One.

Defeat to Louth last weekend leaves their promotion hopes out of their own hands.

Ciarán Meenagh’s side face a Cavan side scrapping to avoid the drop to the third tier.

Derry will also need Tyrone to beat Cork. Should the Red Hands win, Derry would be promoted ahead of the Rebels via head-to-head.

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If there are more than two teams on 10 points, Derry’s superior difference would also see them promoted.

“We have Cavan next week and that’s a must-win game,” Meenagh said after Saturday’s defeat in Ardee.

“That’s the only thing we can control,” he added, speaking before Cork and Meath’s victories on Saturday evening.

“That’s out of our control. We’ll see how that dusts down and we’ll have a better view on it then.”

The Oakleafers will be able to call on Eoin McEvoy who made his first appearance of the season.

Conor McCluskey was listed on the bench and Matthew Downey made a return after sitting out the win over Cork. Goalkeeper Odhrán Lynch took part in the pre-game warmup again.

“We’ll need them all,” Meenagh said of the bigger picture and getting everyone available for selection.

“We’ll try to get them fit and get other players that are playing, that are struggling a wee bit with niggles that everybody has. We’ll be trying to get them up to speed for championship in the weeks ahead.”

The Oakleafers have a home quarter-final against Antrim next month in Find Insurance Celtic Park.

Before that, they have the matter of finishing their league campaign with a win. After losing to Meath on the opening day, Derry won four games on the bounce before Saturday’s defeat in Ardee.

“We came hoping to take a step towards promotion and felt we were well prepared,” Meenagh said of their approach to last weekend’s game.

“We didn’t get the performance in all facets of play, so it was a disappointing day at the office.”

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The Derry boss referenced getting out of Ardee with a victory three years ago when he was part of Rory Gallagher’s management team.

He mentioned Louth turning over Tyrone at the same venue and how they’ve made it a fortress.

Derry did have the chances to make a comeback on Saturday but any time they tried to force a pass, while chasing the game, Sam Mulroy helped steer Louth back on track.

“I have many feelings,” Meenagh said of Saturday’s defeat. “To say it was just the final pass, it would be a lot more nuanced than that.

“I thought it was how we defended; I thought it was our ability in the battle. I thought we lost that, which is the most disappointing thing.”

“We struggled on both sets of kick-outs then as well. All in all, I think Louth more than deserved the victory. They trumped us in every regard, so fair due to them and to their management.”

It was a role reversal of how Derry bossed Cork and produced a near perfect performance.

“That’s the danger of winning a couple of games by so much,” he added, referring to facile wins over Offaly and Cork.

“It leaves you sitting a bit on a pedestal to be knocked off and they (Louth) would have known that and they had their homework done.

“So, fair due to them. We have Cavan now and that’s a must-win game.”

We take a look at Derry’s defeat in Ardee in this week’s review podcast.