Éamonn Fitzmaurice: Cork head to Portugal with a cloud over their heads after damaging Derry defeat
Cork's Seán Walsh and Derry's Brendan Rogers contest a high ball. Pic: INPHO/Lorcan Doherty
There were a slew of consequential results across all four divisions this weekend, that made fools out of those of us that were trying to anticipate results in the run-in to the matches. It means that, as usual, everything is to play for over the final two weekends of league action.
I wondered on Saturday if Cork were coming, but instead they suffered a damaging defeat in Derry. Losing away, especially without Ian Maguire and subsequently the in-form Mark Cronin, was never going to be the end of the world but the manner and margin is alarming for them. It has devastated their scoring difference which could possibly decide promotion on the last day. They sit on -7 points, whereas Meath are on 18 points and Derry an incredible 46 points. They now head for The Campus in Quinta da Lago in Portugal this week with a major cloud over their heads. On the positive side they will have time and space to process, discuss and try to fix it. A young and vulnerable Kildare are up next and should allow them get their season on track but banishing a defeat like that from the memory bank can be tricky.
The third team in that promotion conversation is Meath. I saw them in Newbridge on Saturday evening for their encounter with Kildare. While the home side were poor, the Royals were once more impressive. Also present was Seán Boylan. He will have been pleased with what he saw. The current Meath team possess many of the characteristics that Boylan’s groups established. Tough, physical and disciplined at the back, big and strong in the middle of the field and with plenty of exciting firepower upfront they are the real deal.
Monaghan’s defeat in Killarney means they are all but gone back to Division 2. However, who joins them is another thing. Dublin recovered in Roscommon and all of a sudden have put themselves in a much stronger position to retain their status. Armagh continued with their pattern of playing well in hugely entertaining matches but somehow conspiring to get nothing out of it, at least in terms of points. The battle of these two in the next game in Croke Park has now become a four pointer. Similarly, Galway (who host Dublin in the final match) are also still in the relegation mix despite getting a point in Donegal which felt like a point lost.
When Jim McGuinness reflects on this one he will be absolutely delighted. They remain unbeaten and are moving inexorably towards a League final while at the same time learning about his players all of the time, often in unfamiliar situations. There were recognisable patterns but the nature of their late comeback is what will have satisfied him the most. He rotated here, not starting Peadar Mogan, Finnbarr Roarty or Shane O’Donnell and maybe this lead to some of the uncharacteristic sloppiness that manifested itself in the first half. It was so untypical of Donegal, and McGuinness could be heard roaring in from the sideline to mind the ball. He will chase that this week.
The other aspect of their performance that he will have been majorly annoyed with is their discipline. First up was Michael Langan, who picked up a completely unnecessary black card for being the third man in, as half-time approached. A fussier referee might have even reached for red. Galway won that black card period five points to nil and had put themselves in a good position by the time Langan resumed. Less than two minutes later Stephen McMenamin got a crazy second yellow card to permanently reduce the Ulster champions to 14 for the rest of the match. I will be stunned if we see a similar situation again this season. McGuinness teams just don’t do that.
However, he will have been absolutely delighted with how they chased down the match from there. In stark contrast to the black card period they won the match post-red by 10 points to four, to secure the draw, and preserve their unbeaten record. They were aided and abetted by Galway seemingly trying to slow down the game to maximise the numerical advantage but their conservative play backfired on them. They invited rather than avoided tackles and this fed the home teams energy, and they paid the ultimate price. Their final score was a punched point from a lively Ciarán Mulhern where he should have gone for goal to bury the home side. Instead, he left the door open for Mogan’s late fantastic two pointer to bridge the gap.
Down the road, Malachy O’Rourke has had a peculiar first 15 months in charge of Tyrone, where they have mixed the good with the bad, the intelligible with the inexplicable. They were unlucky to be relegated on seven points last season and afterwards they reached the All-Ireland semi-final without hitting their potential heights, and they are now destined to stay in Division 2 for a second season. The mood music coming out of Tyrone is somewhere between bewilderment and scepticism. As I have written in the past my perspective of him as an opposing manager was one of respect. I always found him tactically flexible and clever, particularly in-game. Yes, he had excellent players at his disposal but he often maxed their output. During the first year of the FRC - prior to him becoming the Tyrone manager - I got to know him on a different level and my admiration and respect for him only grew. His comments after the game were revealing when he said: “We’re trying to piece together a team. There are plenty of ups and downs in that.” He has talent at his disposal and is bringing through the successful under 20s from 2022, 2024 and 2025. At home to Offaly on Saturday night Ruairí Canavan, Seán O’Donnell, Michael Rafferty, Eoin McElholm, Ruairí McCullagh, Niall Devlin and Ciarán Daly from those teams all saw action. Some other players from those teams that caught my eye -- Shea O’Hare, Michael McGleenan and Noah Grimes -- haven’t emerged as consistent options to this point, but may in time. O’Rourke is yet to happen upon the right mix, particularly upfront and I think McGleenan or McCullagh starting at 14 may give them better balance and move away from too many players with a similar profile.
While the integration of the young talent into the team is one side of the equation, the other is managing veterans with big personalities that are slowing down. O’Rourke made a significant and necessary statement in Dungannon in this regard. He dropped Niall Morgan and Michael McKernan. Morgan hasn’t been at his admittedly previously lofty levels so far this season. From his public utterances he seems a bit disillusioned and frustrated with the new game.
He was one of the poster boys of the old game and regularly thrilled us with the full repertoire of his skills. From shot stopping to kick outs, to the outfield element he was absolutely central to everything Tyrone were doing. Now he is largely confined to goalkeeping duties and doesn’t seem to be enjoying it as much. As a result he isn’t playing as well as he could. With Oisín O’Kane from county champions Loughmacrory in goals the last night I wonder did O’Rourke consider playing Morgan out the field for any spell, similar to what Kieran McGeeney is doing with Ethan Rafferty at times. Similarly, McKernan had built his reputation on being a tight and aggressive defender. Now he seems to be more interested in going up the field while relinquishing some of his defensive responsibilities.
By dropping the pair O’Rourke has shown his teeth. By winning the match he is in a position of power, which is no bad thing going forward. He has a squad that if they catch fire they could take off. They are six weeks out from championship where they are away to Armagh in the first game. With promotion out of their hands, from now on is the time for them to be making strides for championship.
