Derry caught in Longford trap

Derry 2-14 Longford 2-16

Another championship body before the championship has properly begun. Division 1 league finalists, respected, almost feared in some quarters by the time May came, and three games have blown their season to pieces.

Longford were, quite simply, the better team. They had the better plan. Theirs worked and Derry’s didn’t. The blue shirts just sat in wait, laying a trap for a prey that kept walking into it. Derry carried the ball into the Longford rearguard, were turned over, and punished on the counter throughout this game.