Derry found out in Ulster

Derry were found out in tonight's Ulster championship semi final against Fermanagh.
Fermanagh simply did their homework on the National League champions.
The key to stopping Derry was to cut the supply to Paddy Bradley.
Fermanagh double teamed him and although Eoghan Bradley produced another of those flashes of brilliance to score an early Derry goal he didn't do much more after the first ten minutes other than look busy.
Paddy Bradley tried hard to break the stranglehold on him but never really got a sniff at it.
What must be worrying for Derry was the failure of the rest of the forward line to fire at all.
Enda Muldoon was hurt early on but I've rarely seen him as quiet in a game.
I don't know whether this was a result of the injury or that the Fermanagh half back line and Mark Little worked so hard to close them down and burn them out with their lung bursting runs forward.
Fergal Doherty was once again missed in midfield and after a slow start Fermanagh's Murphy and McGrath won the war in the middle.
The running of the Fermanagh forwards also cruelly exposed the Derry backs.
I am not convinced by Kevin McCloy's form this season and although the Derry defence dug deep for periods in the second half when they were being over-run out the field a better side than the Ernemen would have had this game won long before the final whistle.
Once again Derry have flattered to deceive in Ulster. They lack mental toughness and there were a lot of players today who looked short on ideas when the going got tough.
Derry posted 1-4 in the first 20 minutes yet scored only another five times in the rest of the game and three of those came in the last ten minutes when Fermanagh were down to 14 men after a rush of blood to Sherry's head.
The Oak Leaf men have enjoyed good runs through the back door in recent seasons but psychologically they will struggle to come back from this defeat given their stated aim of at least winning Ulster.
Worse again is the fact that Fermanagh have shown clearly how to take Derry on and no one at the top table will fear them.

Derry fall short of the mark

Derry got out of Ballybofey today by the skin of their arse.
You have to admire their fightback from four down just before half time but they didn't look like All-Ireland material on this performance.
Derry are solid, their midfield is excellent, they win lots of high ball and with Muldoon and Gilligan dropping in there too it's hard to win any ball against them in that sector of the field.
However, their defence looks vulnerable and better attacks than Donegal will make hay against the Derry full back line.
I also believe that the dependence on Paddy Bradley will be fatal to Derry's chances.
Paddy was hurt just before a kickable free in the first half and I don't think it's any coincidence that Derry failed to add to their tally as he tried to run off the effects of an ankle injury.
It was only when Bradley got going that Derry once again began to prosper.
Bradley ended up with ten points, only three from play, but he earned several of the frees himself with intelligent running to get out in front of his man.
I was surprised that Donegal did not employ a sweeper against the Derry man such is the dependence of his side on him.
There isn't an awful lot more to the Derry attack, his brother Eoin can produce the odd moment of instinctive brilliance but he is a bit brainless and while Mark Lynch works hard he doesn't score often enough to hurt.
Muldoon increasingly does his best work further out from goal although his first point of the second half was worth the admission fee.
On the evidence of this game Derry are a good strong side but they haven't got that little bit extra needed to win an All-Ireland.

Ulster race opens up

This year's Ulster championship became a little more unpredictable after the weekend results.
Derry are most people's favourites and given their convincing win over Donegal today to qualify for the National Football League final against Kerry they have enhanced their reputation, scoring a big psychological victory over their first round opponents in Ulster in the process.
Derry have looked strong this season and have improved since their defence was taken to the cleaners by Galway.
They are still heavily dependent on Paddy Bradley however, and although others have stepped up to the plate on occasion I think that Kerry will show yet again that the Glenullin man's colleagues are not quite up to it against the best defenders.
They might still be good enough to go all the way in Ulster however.
Donegal will be licking their wounds after today's defeat hwever and will now be totally focussed on facing the Oak Leaf men in the championship.
Their big problem is up front as well and they have lacked the fire power to trouble the top sides.
Their football is usually too predictable but as they proved two years ago against Tyrone they are capable of causing an upset on the day.
Armagh and Tyrone have run into a little bit of form of late.
Tyrone have welcomed back Brian McGuigan and they still have some very fine footballers in the shape of Sean Cavanagh, Ryan McMenamin and an attack oriented half back line but their forwards no longer strike fear into the heart of the opposition.
They should be too good for Down at Omagh in their opening game in Ulster and if they get a run they could be hard to beat.
Armagh will take a lot out of their game with Dublin and if their key players stay injury free no one will enjoy a day out against them.
The only other serious contender in the province are Monaghan.
If they can win their last league game against Westmeath then they will have another crack at the Dubs in the Division's decider.
Monaghan are going to hold their own against anyone in the province but don't have it on their bench if they need to change their game plan.
They are fast, fit and strong and Finley and Freeman are excellent forwards. They will be a real handful and are one of the genuine contenders in the province.
As for Down, Antrim, Cavan and Fermanagh, better luck next year!