For all the talk of how condensed the championship is, it feels like Derry hasn’t been part of it for quite some time.
It’s been one month now since they lost to Donegal. Four weeks might have been a standard enough break between matches for some teams not so long ago, but these days four weeks is all you need to run off the Connacht and Munster Championships.
So, when one of the main protagonists is sitting out such a large chunk of a short championship, naturally there will be much focus on what shape Derry will be in when they re-emerge from the shadows this weekend.
For the winner of this opening round-robin game, there is a lot to be gained, but for me, the defeated team will lose far more than the winner will gain
But it is not just a significant game for the dethroned kings of Ulster, there is much on the line here for Galway too.
For the winner of this opening round-robin game, there is a lot to be gained, but for me, the defeated team will lose far more than the winner will gain. Whoever falls in Salthill, I think you can write off their All-Ireland chances. Because I can see the beaten side’s season evaporating to some extent, they might still get to the latter stages of the championship but a loss here will leave scars and do enough damage to keep Sam Maguire out of reach.
First, the loser will have to go the long way to a final. Finishing top of the table is important in this current system because it gives you a vital extra week break to rest and prepare for the quarter-finals when the real business begins.
You can sit back while others go at it full-blooded for more than 70 physically demanding and energy-draining minutes.
Derry’s form during the league backed up their burgeoning reputation
I felt it worked in our favour last year when we played Mayo in the quarter-finals. We played really good football in the second half of that game, while Mayo seemed to tire – and while you can’t be certain, I wonder if the exertions of their match against Galway the previous week were a contributing factor.
So, what does defeat on Saturday in Salthill look like? Let’s consider the teams. Derry have worked so hard over recent years to steadily build towards where they are now – among the leading group of three teams in the All-Ireland race, along with Dublin and Kerry.
They won back-to-back Ulster titles and bounced up through the league tables from Division Four in 2019 to beating Dublin in the Division One final seven weeks ago. Derry’s form during the league backed up their burgeoning reputation.
But the defeat to Donegal halted their gallop somewhat. Still, one loss — and especially to a team which has since backed up their form by winning the Ulster title — is no reason to panic. It doesn’t have to be a season-damaging result.
Consecutive championship defeats tend not to be a springboard towards All-Ireland glory
But if Derry were to come back out four weeks later and get beaten again, what damage would that do to the aura they have been crafting for years? Opponents would sense a vulnerability, and within the Derry dressingroom their inner confidence would take a hit.
Consecutive championship defeats tend not to be a springboard towards All-Ireland glory. Derry don’t need fresh doubts circulating them.
Galway need to avoid defeat for a different reason — inconsistency has been a serious problem for them in recent years. They enter this game with the momentum of a Connacht final win over Mayo, so Galway must now harness that and ride it for the rest of the championship.
If they get handed a defeat at home on Saturday, would it be a case of same old Galway again, flattering to deceive? All the momentum from beating Mayo in the provincial decider would disappear. And so too you’d imagine would any genuine belief within the Galway camp that they can win Sam Maguire.
There have been lots of questions asked about Derry since their Ulster exit but I think some of the criticism has been overly harsh. Having looked back on that Donegal game, there were just little tweaks here or there in terms of their kickout shape that could have made a significant difference.
I can’t see Derry ripping up the script and changing what has served them so well in recent seasons
You never know what is going on behind the four walls of a dressingroom but Mickey Harte and Gavin Devlin are very experienced coaches, I think they’ll know there is no big overhaul required.
I can’t see Derry ripping up the script and changing what has served them so well in recent seasons — particularly throughout the league and in the final against Dublin. There doesn’t need to be a knee-jerk reaction to a result that won’t have significant consequences if they go out and learn from it, and kick on now in the All-Ireland group stages.
The goalkeeping situation is an intriguing one because Connor Gleeson has taken a bit of flak in Galway over the years but he’s an accomplished goalkeeper and after his performance in the Connacht final, he’ll be coming in with a lot of confidence.
There are probably question marks hanging over Odhran Lynch due to the manner of Donegal’s goals in the Ulster quarter-final. But I think Lynch is the better goalkeeper here and Derry’s high press will be suited to Gleeson’s kickouts because they hang a little bit more in the air than Shaun Patton’s restarts.
Derry will be able to put a squeeze on Galway, particularly if the wind is working in their favour.
I don’t see Derry making the same mistakes again when it comes to kickouts, and that is where you might see those small tweaks.
For example, it tends to be windy at Pearse Stadium, so if Galway are playing with a gale at their back and Derry can’t get set straight away, I think they’ll switch to a formation where they will just concede the kickout during that period.
But in general, where possible, they will remain aggressive in terms of how they set up on kickouts. Much of that is risk-reward, but if Galway do win it long then I’d imagine Derry will be less open at the back than they were against Donegal, which might just mean Lynch dropping back five or 10 yards, only a little adjustment.
With Galway, it seems there is always somebody injured or gone travelling or whatever the case may be and as a result, they find it hard to get consistency
As for Galway, the challenge for them has been to get all their top players on the field at the same time for a prolonged period. With Galway, it seems there is always somebody injured or gone travelling or whatever the case may be and as a result, they find it hard to get consistency.
They do have the components to mix it with the best but until they start getting all those players regular games together as a team, winning the All-Ireland is going to be challenging.
This game could be a real catapult to propel them forward, but I just think Derry will bring a big performance because they have spent the last four weeks eagerly counting down the days, waiting to get back in action.
They have worked too hard to become genuine All-Ireland contenders to allow it all to unravel now.
