Dublin refuse to be written off as they end Derry's Championship dreams

Irish Daily Mirror

14-06-2025

DUBLIN 0-22 DERRY 0-20
Dublin's Championship dream lives on.
Beaten twice in this year's Championship, every time they are pronounced dead and buried, they climb out of the grave. Even Lazarus restricted himself to just one comeback. This crowd can never be written off.
Not when they have so many old stagers on song. Brian Howard was incredible here, so too Ciaran Kilkenny, while Con O'Callaghan reminded everyone why he is the closest thing The Dubs have to the Clifford Boys.
He finished the day with six points. Derry finished it with a Championship exit. As the rain fell, their summer ended.
They'll have regrets because they have the bones of an excellent side, Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers and Shane McGuigan among the best players in the country.
Plus the support cast is decent. Ethan Doherty got three points from play, Niall Loughlin two.
So how come they lost?
Ultimately it came down to possession.
The Dubs had more of it, mostly on the back of Stephen Cluxton's kick-outs, as he found Howard every time Dublin needed an outlet.
At the other end, Ben McKinless wasn't quite as accurate, Peadar O Cofaigh Byrne decoding his kick-outs, Killian McGinness playing well off him.
With all this in mind, the big question is how did Derry get to the break on level terms?
That needs some explaining because they were outclassed and outscored in the opening 10 minutes, 0-6 to 0-2 in arrears, and fortunate not to be trailing by more.
They should have been - Paddy Small firing over the bar when he had just keeper Ben McKinless to beat; O'Callaghan opting for a fisted point when he, too, had a chance to raise a green flag.
Add in the point-blank save McKinless made from Sean McMahon's 24th minute shot and you get the picture. Dublin were on top, dominant in midfield, creating more chances, getting seven points from play in the opening half whereas Derry got just five.
Still, they showed serious character, recovering from an awful start which saw Dublin score from their opening four attempts, to gradually find a way into the game, Shane McGuigan getting 0-9 in the first half, three two-pointers contributing to his tally.
While he was on fire, no other Derry player got more than one score in the opening half, whereas Dublin shared the scoring between six players.
One of those was McGinnis who had a superb first half, getting 0-2 from play in the first 35 minutes, his running game complemented by the bulk of O Cofaigh Byrne, who decoded the Derry kick-out.
Yet the fact Derry clawed back four-point and then three-point gaps in the first half stems from their composure firstly and their efficiency secondly - Derry just hitting one wide in the first half whereas Dublin had three wides as well as a shot from Stephen Cluxton that ended up short.
That set things up nicely for the second half when Derry fell short, scoring just seven points in the second half - McGuigan restricted to just one in this period.
As they lacked composure, Dublin kept their heads, as well as the ball, O'Callaghan getting the first point of the second half straight from the throw in, Sean Bugler, McGinnis, John Small, Kilkenny, Bugler again and O'Callaghan once more getting six of the next eight scores.
That left it a five point game with 20 minutes left.
Credit Derry for never giving up.
They altered their tactics but Dublin were wise to their Plan B, crowding the arc to prevent them getting two-point shots away - Derry missing three efforts from this range in the last quarter.
As a result they never got closer than the two-point margin which separated the teams at the end, Kilkenny exercising all his power and control during this period, Howard getting on the end of Cluxton's kicks when he was most needed, Dessie Farrell choosing to empty the bench as the clock ticked down.
That helped. Eoin Murchan and Cian Murphy had big games when they came on; Ross McGarry also contributed well when replacing the influential Niall Scully and even though Derry had plenty of possession in the final five minutes, at no stage did they look like winning this.
Perhaps they may have done so had Rogers converted his 61st minute goal chance. Instead he screwed his shot wide.
The Dubs regrouped, nearly had a goal of their own via Bugler but his shot was cleared off the line by Forbes.
And from then on it was just a case of watching the clock tick down.
It ticked out on Derry. They go out. As for Dublin, it's a preliminary quarter final up ahead. Louth, Clare, Cork, Donegal, Mayo, Tyrone or Cavan are potential opponents. Their chances of glory in 2025 remain in place. Don't write them off yet.
DUBLIN: S Cluxton (0-2, 2ptf); S McMahon, T Clancy, D Byrne; B Howard, J Small (0-1), L Gannon (0-2); P O Cofaigh Byrne, K McGinnis (0-3); C Kilkenny (0-1), S Bugler (0-2), N Scully; P Small (0-2), C O'Callaghan (0-6), C Costello (0-3, 1f, 2ptf)
SUBS: C Murphy for Clancy 48, E Murchan for McGinnis 48, R McGarry for Scully 53, T Lahiff for Gannon (60) N Doran for P Small 69,
DERRY: B McKinless; D Baker, E McEvoy, P McGurk; C Doherty, B Rogers (0-1), P McGrogan; C Glass (0-2), D Higgins; E Doherty (0-3), P Cassidy (0-1), C McFaul; S McGuigan (0-10, 2f, 3 two ptf), N Loughlin (0-2), N Toner (0-1)
SUBS: L Murray for N Toner (44) C McCluskey for McGurk (50) R Mulholland for McFaul (52), R Forbes for P Cassidy 62, C McConagle for N Loughlin 69,
REFEREE: B Cawley (Kildare)