Mickey Harte: ‘It's a very sombre dressing room that we're in now'

SOMBRE: Derry manager Mickey Harte reacts during the GAA Football All-Ireland Senior Championship quarter-final match between Kerry and Derry at Croke Park in Dublin. Photo by Ben McShane/Sportsfile

Ultimately it is the manner of their exit that will hurt most.

Derry have been explosive, engrossing, absolutely blockbuster. Even in their recent malfunctions, they have always been compelling in some form. Until Sunday.