At the outset here, it will be admitted that I do not know Ciaran Deeley nor have I ever met him. Though in this line of business, powers of observation are the vice grips and no. 13 wrench of your toolbox. And, even without any great knowledge of the methodology of the aforementioned, it’s obvious he’s one of the shrewdest operators on the football circuit. On a par with people like Niall Moynagh and Paul Rouse in terms of thinking outside the box when it comes to the mechanics of the game.
Said admiration isn’t solely down to the transformational effect he had during his spell as London football manager either. During which they made it all the way to a Connacht SFC Final. One need only pick up on his almost immediate observation at the end of the Div. 1 NFL Final.
I can’t transcribe it exactly, but it was something along the lines of ‘That brawl is the clearest indication yet that Dublin now see Derry as a genuine threat to their supremacy’. That is not to condone or suggest that a dust up is the optimal manner in which to make a statement. But there does come a time in the life cycle of every team that a marker must be laid down making it blatantly obvious they’re not to be trifled with.
Whether they be the entity at the top of the pile or those striving to get there. Dublin are very much in the former and you can be sure that, by whatever means, they were determined to remind suitors to their crown that they won’t be deposed easily.
That said, in reality, at no stage did they look like shaking Derry off. Not even when Colm Basquel got through the Oak Leaf barricades with highly surprising ease.
Though what shouldn’t have been a surprise was that the Ulster side used their own defence as the launchpad for relentless bombardments on Evan Comerford’s goal.
That Conor Glass and Shane McGuigan were tormentors-in-chief would hardly be headline news, it turned out on this occasion it was the likes of Conor McCloskey, Conor Doherty and – most especially – Eoin McEvoy – doing the heavy lifting.
Particular mention must be reserved for the last-named. Who continues to defy his youth and relative lack of experience and is rapidly becoming one of the most influential footballers in the county.
Moreover, collectively, Harte’s latest band of heroes may have unlocked avenues from which the blue wave can come under attack. Not by inventing anything or doing anything overly scientific, simply by running hard and continuously at the Dublin defence.
True, it did yield a merited and significant victory for the men from the Sperrins, but what Derry’s win will also have done is poked the bear, so to speak.
Brian Fenton’s red card was utterly hideous. It said more about the referee’s ego than the actual ‘incident’ itself. It will most likely be overturned on appeal, but even if it isn’t, his unavailability would hardly have Dessie et al requiring Zyrtek to help them catch 40 winks.
Confirmation that Derry are now a genuine threat might have them tossing and turning though
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