Derry boss Ciaran Meenagh delighted to take direct route to Croke Park

Fans maybe, but not boss Ciaran Meenagh.

Having watched Benny Heron's second half goal help tick the 'direct route' box and secure the Group 4 top spot with a fourth victory over Clare in 16 months, Meenagh and his players now have an extra week to prepare for their last eight tie, the opposition for which will be revealed in next week's draw following this weekend's preliminary quarter-finals.

Derry's quarter-final opponents will be one of six counties with Donegal and Monaghan the only teams of those playing this weekend that Derry cannot be drawn against. It means plenty of potential homework but Meenagh and his backroom are more than content to concentrate on matters Oakleaf which, in the Loughmacrory man's book, means simply winning the game in front of you.

"It's a good point," agreed when Derry's 2023 successes were pointed out to him, "We did set out to win the McKenna Cup and we did set out to gain promotion. We did set out to win the ulster Championship but now it is not about 'winning' the last competition, it's about winning one more game. I know that is a cliche but cliches are cliches for a reason.

"It's about winning one game at a time. We will take a look at a few of the teams we could eventually play. The main problem is we could have only five days to prepare for whoever we play given the draw, so we're going to be busy doing homework on a lot of different teams, we have a bit of the spade work done.

"But look, I would rather be in that position that in the position of having to win a number of games to get there.

"And I think it is a good thing (not knowing the opposition at this point). If you have too long to focus on opposition you end up paralysing yourself by overly focusing on them. Then, if you lose the game, you end up looking back and saying, 'If only we had focused on ourselves' or 'If we had got a performance out of ourselves'.

"It will be, take a look at others, get a feel for them but it's about getting a performance out of ourselves in two weeks' time."

The Ulster champions eventually saw off the challenge of Colm Collins' stubborn Clare side despite briefly trailing in the opening half and going into the break all square at 0-9 to 1-06

However Meenagh’s men emerged rejuvenated for the second-half and a blistering third quarter eventually broke the Banner County's resistance. Emmett McMahon’s first half goal midway had briefly shot Clare into the lead, but one Benny Heron pounced from close range in the 47th minute, there was no looking back for the Oakleafers who came home with plenty to spare.

"We were glad to get into the changing room at half-time when the message was to be very calm, to up the ante and to clean the most basic skills up," revealed Meenagh.

"It was almost like giving an under 12 team talk and I said that to them. I said if I was managing an Under 12 or 14 team, this is what I would be saying, the same message. But second half we did that, we took care of the basics.

"The message was very simple but the players are very, very smart. They had already had a word with themselves before I came into the changing room and the message I was giving to them was the same one they had discussed among themselves.

"The most fundamental thing, we won the throw in at the start of the second half and got a score from that and then built a lead. At that stage, coming down the straight, we were conscious of what was happening in Omagh and knew if we could manage the game out then we were home and hosed."

Derry: O Lynch (0-2), Padraig Cassidy, E McEvoy, C McCluskey, C Doherty, G McKinless (0-2), P McGrogan, C Glass, B Rogers, B Heron (1-0), Paul Cassidy (0-2), E Doherty (0-1), C McFaul. S McGuigan (0-9 4f), N Loughlin (0-4 1f). (Subs): N Toner for Pádraig Cassidy (47), Ben McCarron for McFaul (56), Shea Downey for B Heron (60), Paul McNeil for Glass (66), D Cassidy for McEvoy (72).

Clare: S Ryan, R Lanigan, C Russell, M Doherty, A Sweeney, P Lillis, C Rouine, C O’Connor, D Bohannon (0-1), D Walsh (0-1), E McMahon (1-6 6f), J Malone (0-3 1f), B McNamara, K Sexton, P Collins. (Subs): M Garry (0-1) for Rouine (HT), A Griffin for O’Connor (51), I Ugweru for Sweeney (53), M McInerney (53), D O’Neill for Bohannon (67).

Referee: Sean Hurson (Tyrone).