Derry warm up for Dubs clash by brushing Kildare aside

'Next week in Celtic Park is something that they will revel in, and so will we,' said Derry boss Rory Gallagher.

Sun, 26 Feb, 2023 - 18:24

Ger McNally

DERRY 2-15 KILDARE 0-7

DERRY warmed for next weekend’s top of the table clash with Dublin with a performance in Newbridge that their manager Rory Gallagher labelled as the best of an already impressive season.

They were simply far too good for a feeble Kildare side and Gallagher and his team will now turn their attention to welcoming Dublin to Celtic Park for a mouthwatering clash next Saturday evening.

“It’s ourselves and Dublin next week and I suppose if I’d been asked at the start of the season would you like to be going into that game unbeaten then of course I’d have said yes, and to have won every game is a bonus.

“There’s been a lot of talk about that game, people are naturally looking forward to it and that’s normal and good but honestly, we haven’t thought it before now and we’ll get our heads around that this week. It’s exciting, and it will be exciting for Dublin as well to come up to ourselves. They went to Limerick and then to Cork, big venues where it is hard to generate an atmosphere. Next week in Celtic Park is something that they will revel in, and so will we,” said Gallagher.

Derry blitzed Kildare from the off and already hit the post and forced home goalkeeper Mark Donnellan into two saves before Niall Loughlin scored their first goal on the half hour mark to make it 1-5 to 0-1, and they led 1-8 to 0-3 at half time.

As well as being strong in defence, Derry looked confident going forward and Gallagher was pleased to see their work on the training ground paying off.

“We work equally hard with the ball as without the ball, even when we are working on the defensive side of things there is an opposite to that as well.

“We’re not like a Dublin or Kerry or even a Tyrone or Mayo or Donegal where you’re inheriting things from a really good level. We are building that slowly. I have to give everybody a lot of credit, they apply themselves really well in training together and then when they are playing,” he said.

The excellent Shane McGuigan added Derry’s second in the 43rd minute and they could have added a third, or even fourth, only that Donnellan was in top form between the Kildare posts.

“I think that was our best performance of the four games so far,” said Gallagher.

“You probably expect your trajectory to go up the more you train and the more games you play but I’m just delighted to win, and in style and be very comfortable at half time and heading into the start of the second half we were home and dry,” admitted Gallagher.

While Derry are bouncing and full of confidence, it was another day to forget for Kildare as they slipped to double digit defeats in consecutive St Conleths Park games for the first time in their history.

Glenn Ryan admitted that his team are suffering from a loss of confidence but with a quick turnaround to a potentially season defining game against Louth next Sunday, he said the only way out of their slump is to keep working hard.

“We’re there as a group and whatever the players feel, the management feel but it’s not something that is going to stop us. We’ve all seen ourselves in difficult positions, and from a management perspective we are the ones who have to step forward and show the right leadership. We are certainly not going to feel sorry for ourselves.

"It’s a challenge and when there is a challenge in front of you then you have to face that challenge as best as you can and see what comes out of it. We certainly believe that these fellas can improve and are better than they are showing. From our all perspectives, as a management team, all we want to do is improve players.

"We are not getting that improvement at the moment. It’s not through a lack of effort by either the management or the players but we need to keep searching and probing to try find it,” said Ryan.

DERRY: O Lynch; C McKaigue, E McEvoy 0-1, C McCluskey; C Doherty, P McGrogan, Padraig Cassidy; C Glass, B Rogers; N Toner 0-2 (1f), Paul Cassidy, E Doherty 0-3; B Heron 0-2, S McGuigan 1-7 (4fs, 1m), N Loughlin 1-0. Subs: S Downey for McGrogan, 54; O McWilliams for Heron, 59; C McGuckian for Padraig Cassidy, 64; P McNeill for McEvoy, 65;B McCarron for Toner, 67.

KILDARE: M Donnellan; M O'Grady, S Ryan, D Malone; D Hyland, K Flynn, P McDermott 0-1; K Feely, K O'Callaghan; E Doyle, B McCormack, A Beirne 0-1; N Flynn 0-2fs, D Kirwan 0-3fs, J Robinson.

Subs: D Flynn for Robinson,30; J Sargent for Malone, h/t; S O'Sullivan for N Flynn, h/t; P Cribbin for Beirne, 43; B Coffey for McCormack, 54.

REFEREE: Barry Judge (Sligo).