Derry face old foes Down in Christy Ring Cup repeat

Manager John McEvoy is backing Derry hurlers to show their true colours this weekend as they belatedly get their Christy Ring Cup campaign off with an early chance to avenge their recent League final defeat to Down.

McEvoy’s men travel to Ballycran tomorrow (throw-in 1.30pm) less than two weeks after that 2-16 to 0-17 defeat in the Athletic Grounds which brought promotion for the Mourne men despite Derry having topped the Division 2B table after an unbeaten campaign.

Derry had hoped to bounce back from that game against Sligo last week but the Yeats County were forced to concede tha ttie after a number of players had to self isolate, teeing up a chance for the Oak Leafers to prove the league final was an off day in an otherwise excellent season.

“Yeah, we have to look at the draw positively,” explained McEvoy, “You rarely do get that chance so quickly to put a defeat behind you against the same opposition.

“At this stage, it is the quarter-final of the Christy Ring Cup so it is a totally new competition. You have to put the league to bed and say, look, we did well in the league. We topped the division on points. In the final we obviously didn’t get the result or the performance we wanted from either the players or the manager.

You take the positives out of it and you move on to this game and that’s what we have done. In fairness to the players, their attitude since that league final has been brilliant. The attitude has been brilliant since we came in two years ago. The last day was a setback, it was disappointing but you just have to take the learnings out of it and move on to the next game in Ballycran.”

The Derry manager admitted he had been frustrated by the Sligo cancellation but said he fully understood the reasons in what is a unique championship season for every county.

“It was frustrating because we wanted to put the previous Sunday against Down out of our system but there was nothing we could do about it,” adds McEvoy, “In fairness to Sligo, they were very genuine in their communication with us. It was disappointing but then we turned it around and we had a really good session on Sunday.

“It was disappointing but what can you do? This is where everyone is at right now and we just have to go with it. Even talking after the League final, you don’t want to offer excuses because our performance wasn’t where we wanted it to be, but we had two challenge matches lined up over the previous three or four weeks and had to cancel them both. That was another frustration but it is the way of things at the moment and certainly after the league final, having that game under our belts will help us going into the championship game.”

Derry have Richie Mullan fit again after he was forced off during the league final but both Tiernan McHugh and Chrissy Henry are doubtful, the latter with a better chance of being involved tomorrow after he returned to light training this week.

“We have no excuses. We just want to get back working now, working hard as a team and as a management and looking forward to the matches. Obviously there is a lot going on outside of sport at the moment and sport is a great release valve for everybody. We are very positive about the weekend and looking forward to it

“We felt it even during the week and they maybe the players felt themselves, that there was so much more in them than what they showed in the final. We have total faith in them as players. The team has evolved the whole time we have been involved. New players are coming in and staking their claim and there is now really good competition in the squad.

“In the final, for the last 20 minutes we actually played quite well but prior to that we felt we didn’t quite perform to the levels we had set for ourselves in the previous league matches so yes, this is a great opportunity this weekend. It is a new competition and we have to go at it.”

There will be no surprises for either county with two teams who know each other inside out at this point. With one league win a-piece this season to date, tomorrow is expected to be just as close.

“It is the same for Down and ourselves. They are a fine side and are obviously very confident after being promoted. They brought an intensity and a physicality the last day that you had to admire. Certainly this weekend is going to be a really hard challenge for us but that is why you play these games and that’s why we are involved. You have a massive opportunity but also a big challenge in front of it.

“We’ll have a right go at this competition now but every team that’s in it this year will want to progress.”