Derry emerge victorious against Red Hands

FULL-TIME: Derry 1-15 v 1-12 Tyrone

Football League Division 2 | Celtic Park | Saturday, January 31

Derry secured a hard-earned victory over Tyrone at Celtic Park, seeing out a tight and intense contest to claim two valuable Division 2 points on a calm winter evening.

After last weekend’s opening defeat to Meath, there was a sharpness about Derry from the outset. With Matthew Downey and Lachlan Murray added late to the starting line-up, the Oak Leafers flew out of the blocks. Conor Doherty opened the scoring inside 20 seconds and within a minute Lachlan Murray burst through the Tyrone defence to fist over and set the early tone.

Derry continued to play on the front foot, with points from Conor Glass and Murray helping them edge into a 0-5 to 0-4 lead by the 19-minute mark. Tyrone stayed in touch largely through the accuracy of Ethan Jordan from placed balls, but Derry were getting good numbers forward and probing patiently for goal chances, even if Tyrone’s defence stood firm when it mattered.

Much of Derry’s early momentum came from their ability to build attacks from deep. Shea McGuckin repeatedly picked out Conor Doherty on the sideline from kickouts, while Conor McCluskey and Gareth McKinless drove forward with intent, linking defence to attack. When Niall Loughlin added a point on 22 minutes to restore a one-point lead, Derry looked settled.

Tyrone briefly wrestled control when Conor O’Neill landed a two-pointer to give them their first lead of the night, but Derry’s response was immediate and decisive. The moment of the half arrived on 27 minutes as Glass burst through from midfield, shrugged off challenges and finished emphatically to the top corner of the net, swinging the momentum back in Derry’s favour.

The sides traded goals before the break, with Ciaran Daly replying for Tyrone after a short free, his effort dropping in off the crossbar. Derry went in narrowly behind at the interval, 1-7 to 1-8, and faced an added challenge when Murray was shown a black card just before half-time, leaving them a man down for the opening stages of the second half.

Tyrone capitalised early after the restart, including a two-pointer from Michael McKernan, but Derry stayed composed. Despite a few early wides and a Paul Cassidy goal chance flashing narrowly wide, they gradually regained control. Points from Shane McGuigan and Doherty levelled matters by the 50-minute mark, before Brendan Rogers landed a crucial two-pointer to nudge Derry back in front.

From there, Derry managed the game with maturity. McGuigan’s free kept them ahead, substitute Conor McAteer added a fine point on the turn after Niall Toner won a crucial breaking ball, and Ethan Doherty continued to dictate play as the link man. McGuigan’s right-footed point on 65 minutes stretched the lead to three.

Tyrone had their chances late on but were guilty of wides at key moments, while Padraig McGrogan produced a superb last-minute block to snuff out a potential goal chance. Derry saw out the closing stages calmly to seal a deserved victory and build early momentum in their league campaign.

Derry: Shea McGuckin, Diarmuid Baker, Ruairí Forbes, Conor McCluskey, Conor Doherty, Gareth McKinless, Padraig McGrogan, Conor Glass, Brendan Rogers, Ethan Doherty, Paul Cassidy, Niall Loughlin, Shane McGuigan, Matthew Downey, Lachlan Murray

Subs: Louis Regan, Niall Toner, Conor McAteer, Shea Downey, Patrick McGurk, Mark Doherty, Ruairí Ó Mianáin, Jack Doherty, Charlie Diamond, Sean Young, Sean Kearney