Derry Masters make it two from two as Antrim held off in Dunsilly

The Oakleafers struggled to find any real fluency and were forced to dig deep to hold off the challenge of a gnarly old Antrim contingent that refused to lie down throughout a spiky enough contest.

The McFlynn brothers, Paul and Shane, along with the impressive Joe Gray, top scored, hitting three points apiece with Derry relying on as many as nine different scorers to finally drag themselves over the line.

The visitors began brightly. Ciaran McIvor won the throw-in and the ball was moved quickly to full forward Eunan Murphy who fisted over for Derry’s opening score. Brian Mullan doubled the lead after a patient build up as the Oak Leafers prodded for openings in a well manned Antrim rearguard.

Indeed, having weathered that early Derry storm which also included Shane McFlynn’s first point of the day, the Saffrons fought back to 0-3 each after 15 minutes of toil in ferociously hot conditions.

Stung into action, Ronan Rocks’ men enjoyed their best spell of the game,

hitting five of the next six points. A Kevin McGuckin brace, the second of

which was wonderfully assisted by Shane McFlynn and Jimmy O’Connor, was followed up by a Paul McFlynn free.

In between times Gray rattled the Antrim crossbar after a jet heeled run, but the same player made some amends soon after dinking over a point with the outside of the boot. “A point’s a good score!” joint manager James McGrath could often be heard reassuring his troops.

Paul Carton’s bulldozing forays forward with the ball out of defence were becoming an integral and important part of Derry’s play. You know the Banagher legend means business when he arrives at the game with a freshly scobed championship haircut, and immediately hops up on the physio’s plinth to get those thunder thighs fully primed for the battle to come. Very much like the great South African second row Bakkies Botha, Cartin can be found in changing rooms before a game praying for forgiveness for the pain he is about to inflict on his opponents.

At the back Conor Doonan and Adrian Deery both went about their defensive business with their usual quiet dependability. But again, like an annoying farm dog biting at a tractor tyre, Antrim refused to lie down. The Saffrons, clinical and economic with their long range pointing, fought back to reduce their deficit to 0-7 to 0-5.

Derry, however, finished the first half with a flurry. Ryan O’Kane, lively

throughout, pointed as did Ciaran McIvor. Jimmy O’Connor handed the

visitors a five point lead at the break, taking the insurance of a point when a goal seemed on for a 0-5 to 0-10 lead.

Two Gray points opened Derry’s second half account, the second a clinker, before a hamstring pull brought an early end to the ‘Vale man’s contribution.

The McFlynn brothers nailed a couple of fine frees, Shane with the left, Paul with the right, before an Antrim goal in the 40th minute threatened to blow the contest wide open.

Indeed, the green flag certainly encouraged the Saffron men as the game’s physicality increased a notch or two and tempers began to fray in the white hot heat of battle. Sunshine and sweat often combine to cause an upward swing on the crabbit-o-meter, and Saturday was no different.

Derry lost their way a little, but the introduction of Gavin Diamond offered the visitors a fresh and potent outlet up front. The Bellaghy ace, breaking in a swanky but still wayward new pair of boots, was unlucky to see a couple of point blank efforts on goal magnificently saved by Antrim netminder Sean McGreevey.

Deep into squeaky bum time and just three points up, a Paul McFlynn free

from distance confirmed Derry’s eventual victory. A great day for the Loup. Another great day for Derry.

Derry: Brian Scullion, Connor Doonan, Seamie O’Kane, Adrian Deery, Paul Cartin, Brian Mullan (0-1), Marty McGuinness, Ciaran McIvor (0-1), Kevin McGuckin (0-2), Joe Gray (0-3), Paul McFlynn (0-3, 3f), Jimmy O’Connor (0-1), Shane McFlynn (0-3, 1f), Eunan Murphy (0-1), Ryan O’Kane (0-1).

Subs: Gavin Diamond for E Murphy, Kevin Doherty for R O’Kane, Donal Brolly for M McGuinness, E McGilloway for J Gray.