Four goal Derry lay down Christy Ring Cup marker by dismantling Sligo

Derry 4-27, Sligo 2-13

Derry took their Christy Ring Cup frustrations out on a shell shocked Sligo team at Owenbeg on Sunday, Johnny McGarvey's men running riot in the second half to record an first win of 2023.

Last week's opening day draw against Tyrone raised quite a few Oak Leaf eyebrows, only adding to the frustration of an unfortunate relegation from Division 2A. However, that league run and the Healy Park stalemate was masking the excellent rebuilding work McGarvey and his backroom team have done since accepting the Derry post at the 11th hour. All that has been missing were the results and on Sunday both performance and finish clicked in a manner Sligo simply had no answer to.

Cormac O'Doherty was simply superb, hitting a superb 1-12 which included a period of the second half in which the Derry playmaker scored 1-05 without reply. He wasn't alone though. John Mullan has been a revelation this season in the full forward line and after hitting 1-07 from play against Tyrone, he followed that tally up with another 1-05 from play against the Yeats county. James Friels' stock continues to rise and the Oak Leaf U20 star contributed 1-01 but every single player in red and white was an eight or nine out of 10. It was that type of day.

A reasonably close opening half saw Derry in charge but the concession of two goals to Eddie O'Donaghue kept Sligo in the game. That was probably the one aspect of the performance that McGarvey will want a closer look at in the video.

However, Derry still led by seven at the break. Sligo came out and hit the opening two scores of the game but thereafter it was the Oak Leaf show and the hosts outscored their visitors by 3-10 to 0-07 in the second half, w run which included Derry hitting 2-09 without reply.

And with London defeating Meath and Tyrone shocking Mayo, it means a remarkable seven day turn around in the table with Derry now top from the Red Hands on score difference as the only two unbeaten sides after two games. Indeed only one point now separates five of the six team with only Mayo still waiting on their first points.

It's Meath up next at Owenbeg for McGarvey and if they can produce this level of hurling on a regular basis they will be difficult to stop in this competition in which the two two counties of the six team group contest the final.

Derry were in control from early on, O'Doherty, a deep lying controlling influence for much of the neat inter-play that took McGarvey's team to their seven point interval advantage, Derry leading 1-15 to 2-05 at the short whistle.

The Oak Leafers had a spread of seven different scorers and they got off to the perfect start with Ris Mac Somhlaire's seventh minute goal, getting on the end of a high Segdae Melaugh centre, put the home team 1-02 to 0-2 ahead.

Derry had stretched that lead to 1-05 to 0-03 when O'Donaghue's struck for his opening goal, firing a lovely low finish into the bottom corner 13 minutes in.

Derry's response? A five point run that extended their lead to eight points before, again, Sligo hit the net through O'Donoghue with that seven point half-time lead just about reflecting Derry's display.

The second half was a different story as Derry clicked into top gear to lay their championship credentials out for all to see.

Ironically Sligo grabbed the opening two points but that would be as good as it got with the the game over as a contest long before the final whistle.

Derry's second goal arrived on 44 minutes and it was a lovely moved, Under 20 starts Friel and Melaugh combining for the former to fire home a superb strike. Number three was just as good, O'Doherty adding a major on his own mini assault on the scoreboard, before Melaugh turned provider again with a lovely pass for John Mullan to cap another excellent display with his second goal in two Christy Ring Cup games.

Three group games now remain and while this competition has already shown just how close and unpredictable it will be, Derry have set their standards. Reproduce this regularly and they can start dreaming of of Croke Park.

Derry scorers: Cormac O'Doherty (1-12, 11f), John Mullan (1-5), James Friel (1-1), Ris Mac Somhaile (1-0), Darragh McGilligan (0-4), Eamon Conway (0-2), Paul Cleary (0-1), Segdae Melaugh (0-1), Richie Mullan (0-1),

Sligo scorers: Eddie O'Donaghue (2-0), Andrew Kilcullen (0-8, 6f), Conor Hanniffy (0-1), Rory McHugh (0-1), Thomas Cawley (0-1), Joe McHugh (0-1).

Derry: Oisin O'Doherty, Ronan Mullan, Mark Craig, Daire Kelly, Sean Cassidy, Richie Mullan, Paddy Kelly, Meehaul McGrath, James Friel, Ris Mac Somhairle, Segdae Melaugh, Darragh McGilligan, Cormac O'Doherty, John Mullan, Paul Cleary. (Subs) Sean Francis Quinn for R Mullan, 42mins; Padhraig Neilis for R Mullan, 59mins; Sean Kelly for S Melaugh, 64mins; Callum O'Kane for J Friel, 64mins;

Sligo: Luke Comerford, James Weir, Niall Feehily, Niall Kilcullen, Ronan Molloy, Rory McHugh, Kevin O'Kennedy, Fionn Connolly, Eoin Comerford, Conor Hanniffy, Eddie O'Donaghue, Fionn Moylan, Joe McHugh, Thomas Cawley, Andrew Kilcullen. (Subs) Gavin Connolly for N Feehily, 15mins; Liam O'Kelly Lynch for J Weir, 28mins; Declan Reidy for L Comerford, 53mins; Eamon Conway for P Cleary, 44mins; Darragh Flynn for T Cawley, 70mins;

Yellow cards: N Kilcullen, 22mins.

Referee: Colm McDonald (Antrim)