City of Derry missing key duo for tough league trip to Dromore

No. 8 Stephen Corr and influential centre Davy Graham both hobbled out of last weekend's Junior Cup stalemate against Cooke with hamstring injuries and now face a race against Time to be fit for Derry's huge home league clash with Ballyclare on February 3rd. That red letter date comes amid a run of four fixtures that also include quarter-finals in both the Towns and Junior Cups, not that Derry Head coach Richard McCarter is looking any further than this weekend's trip to Barban Hill.

"This next month is massive for us," admitted McCarter ahead of the meeting with sixth placed Dromore, "We have two league games - Dromore and Ballyclare - and then we have the Towns' Cup quarter-final next weekend and the Junior Cup quarter-final the week after Ballyclare. Literally our next four games will determine where we finish and how we do this season. They are that important.

"The match last week was costly though because we lost both Corrsy and 'DG' (Davy Graham). Davy scored but he felt his hamstring a bit. His is more a precaution but it will still keep him out for a couple of weeks and we're waiting to see how bad Corrsy is. We're optimistic but you can't take any chances with these type of injuries either.

"I've talked all season about how much strength in depth we have this season and now is the time we have to prove that. Tiernan Thornton is still not 100 per cent. He trained this week so we have to see how he is closer to the game but on the plus side we have Cathal Cregan and Jake McDevitt are back to give us a bit more firepower and Simon Logue is available again this week which softens the loss of 'DG' a bit."

Derry have already defeated Dromore this season, running in six tries in a 45-15 win at Judges Road, but McCarter knows how dangerous a team which defeated Derry twice last season can be"This is a fixture that makes me a bit wary because Dromore are a good, physical side, especially at home so if we were to come away with a win I would be delighted," he explained

"At Judges Road we ended up winning quite comfortably but this is going to be a tough one on Saturday.

"It's good to have the boys back in and nice to see 'Logie' fit again. Credit to the other players I think we have coped pretty well without, but he's one of those players that gives you another bit of the 'X' Factor. He hasn't played in a while but just his experience and influence on matches will stand us in good stead hopefully.

"Cathal coming back after a difficult period as well is a real bonus, as is Jake in the back row; he's just been so dynamic for us this year, he has really cemented that No. 7 spot. He's always really hungry to get in and is very physical.

"It's a positive to have those guys coming back in, it's just a shame about the two main injuries we picked up last week but that means an opportunity for others to step up."