Allianz Hurling League Division Two, round six
Derry 1-27 Meath 1-23
DERRY manager Johnny McGarvey hailed Saturday’s win over Meath as the best performance of his tenure.
It was an important victory on the back of three successive defeats but the Oak Leaf county’s Division Two status still hinges on their final game, against Donegal in Letterkenny on Saturday week.
From the moment Cahal Murray drove through to win a free within 20 seconds of the opening whistle at Celtic Park, there was a swagger about the home side.
The Swatragh man, on his first outing of the season, did the same for their next score – with Christy McNaughon twice on target to set the tone for the day.
Derry stayed on top when Shea Cassidy hit the net, only for it to ruled out because referee Kevin Parke had blown for a penalty. Undeterred, McNaughton smashed to the net.
Gerald Bradley then had a further goal chance which was brilliantly saved by Meath goalkeeper Colm O’Riordan as the home side held the upper hand all over the pitch.
Their bright start was typified by defender Patrick Turner attacking every ball like the season depended on it, while Meehaul McGrath ran and ran, linked play and fired over a point.
There was also the input of Gerald Bradley and John Mullan as link men. It was summed up in the 52nd minute when Meath closed to within three points before Bradley hoovered up the next vital possession before feeding Mullan to score.
On a day when Cormac O’Doherty made his first appearance of the season, Derry did lose Shea Cassidy to a late red card when referee Parke deemed a swing that connected with Dáire Shine to be dangerous enough to warrant a sending off, with the Royals’ defender forced off as a result.
McGarvey was thrilled with his side’s dsiplay after a difficult few weeks.
“I’m really over the moon,” said the Derry boss.
“We hurled really, really well. I thought the first half was magnificent. I thought it was the best that we’ve hurled in my time here.”
McGarvey was dealt a blow before the game when experienced defender Mark Craig was forced to pull out due to flu. James Friel came into the defence with Sean Cassidy moved into the full-back line.
Up front, McNaughton pulled deep at times to leave Murray and Shea Cassidy as a potent inside duo, with McGarvey impressed by the Swatragh man’s impact.
“Cahal Murray brought us energy up front, something that we didn’t have,” he said.
“He won ball in the air, he won ball on the ground and he turned men over. As brilliant as I thought our defence was, I thought our forwards worked great.”
Derry were already 0-3 to 0-1 ahead when they struck for goal. Cassidy did well to get clear and despite being fouled, he still squeezed his shot into the net.
With the penalty already awarded, and Meath defender Domhnall Rogers black-carded, up stepped McNaughton to bag his first goal of the campaign.
With John Mullan and Bradley linking with the inside duo, Derry were sharp and gave Meath trouble on their puckouts.
Further out the pitch, swarms of red jerseys were bottling up Meath players. It was controlled aggression. The home side celebrated turnovers but it was their calm use of the ball that translated that passion into an impressive 1-27 tally.
A Mikey Cole goal got Meath back into the game at 1-6 to 1-5, but John Mullan, Richie Mullan and Murray replied with Derry scores as they pushed into a 1-16 to 1-9 interval lead.
Jack Regan grabbed the first two scores of the second half for the Linster side, but Derry weathered the storm to again to ensure they maintained control of things.
On the two occasions Meath narrowed the gap to three points – with sub Seán Doyle hitting three scores – Derry managed to grab the next point.
The home side did breathe a sigh of relief when Cole’s piledriver came back off the crossbar, while at the other end, Eamon Conway, McGrath and Ruairí Ó Mianáin grabbed the scores to clinch victory.
“In the last couple of games when we’ve conceded goals, we’ve conceded again off the goal,” McGarvey said of his side always having a response to adversity.
“Whereas today, I thought composure-wise, we were really, really impressive. We didn’t overdo it at the back. We played the ball long a lot. Some we got, some we didn’t.
“Conceding the goal, especially off a mistake as we’ve been doing –to come up and get the next three scores was just vital.
“It cancels the goal out within two or three minutes and all of a sudden, you’re back on that level keel again. We’re really, really happy.”
Derry S Kelly; P Kelly, Sean Cassidy, P Turner; R Ó Mianáin 0-2, J Friel, R Mullan 0-4 (0-2f, 1×65); M McGrath 0-1, E Conway 0-2; J Mullan 0-4, G Bradley 0-3, T Brady; C McNaughton 1-7 (0-7f, 1-0p); C Murray 0-2, Shea Cassidy 0-2
Subs C O’Doherty for Brady (54), C O’Kane for Bradley (66), M Craig for P Kelly (82),
Yellow cards Sean Cassidy (38), J Friel (60)
Red card Shea Cassidy (70)
Meath C O’Riordan; J Ennis, D Shine 0-1, D Rogers; J Kelly, D Kelly 0-1, S Ennis; K Gorman, D O’Higgins; N Potterton 0-2, S Quigley, L Byrne; M Cole 1-0, J Regan 0-16 (0-11f, 1×65), E Fitzgerald
Subs J Toher for O’Higgins (ht), S Doyle 0-3 for Fitzgerald (ht), S Corbett for Quigley (57), M Burke for J Ennis (63), B Holden for Kelly (66), M Healy for Shine (blood sub 77)
Black card D Rogers (4)
Yellow card D Kelly (27)
Referee K Parke (Antrim)