ROUND FIVE WAS the stage last year where Derry hit some turbulence.
Prior to that their Allianz Football League campaign had been a smooth ride, collecting four wins from four outings, but that mid-March day was the start of their promotion hopes being upended. A draw away to Roscommon in a spiky, fractious encounter that yielded 18 cards, was followed by a heavy defeat at the hands of Galway the following week.
After travelling at high altitude in Division 2, they went into a tailspin and a last day win over Meath could not see them regain flight sufficiently to claim promotion, the Connacht duo bagging the coveted spots.
Twelve months on and they face another Round 5 test in the second tier. For all their championship success last year, a first Ulster title since 1998 and progress to the last four of the All-Ireland series, the absence of promotion on their collective CV, appears to have rankled with the players.
Wins at the expense of Limerick, Louth, Meath and Kildare put them in a healthy position before last night’s encounter with Dublin. The stature of their opponents and the home team’s form, whipped up the levels of anticipation for the bumper local crowd in Celtic Park.
When the final whistle had sounded, they had passed the Round Five test. The victory places them on the cusp of promotion, a point from their last two games will ensure that. But in a wider sense this could be a victory of greater consequence. There will be no confirmation until the championship unfolds yet the manner of this win gives the game an element of real significance.
This felt likely a statement win by Derry. The listless nature of their first-half display was at the core of the outcome. Their performance after the interval was transformative, chalking up a mere two points in the first half and grabbing 1-9 thereafter.
They were five down at half-time, trailed by six early in the second half and only got their noses in front on the scoreboard in the 69th minute. Even after that they were pegged back by Dublin and it required a passage of play conducted by Brendan Rogers to generate the win, his driving and weaving run capped off by a tidy finish for the last point of the night.
Derry’s fan spilled onto the pitch afterwards to salute the victors. The celebratory air stemmed from the sight of a team that keeps progressing, that they took a considerable step closer to promotion and that they beat a team of the stature of Dublin, backboned by All-Ireland winners and spearheaded by some of the game’s most prominent names.
But it was also rooted in the thrilling nature of a comeback win that looked unlikely in the first half.
Dublin’s recent form has featured nervy outings against Munster opponents. They needed David O’Hanlon’s reflex save to hold on for a two-point win against Cork and Cormac Costello’s punched effort for a one-point win against Clare. Last night was one close contest too many that they could not emerge on the right side of.
Which was curious given the sparkling play they produced in the first half. It was the best stuff they have served up in the league to date, attacking with purpose, gaining a foothold in the game and not letting Derry gain that position of supremacy. Derry’s shooting was wretched, particularly from frees as they missed three straightforward first-half efforts, but it was magnified by Dublin’s poise and control when they moved forward.
They pulled and stretched Derry’s defence, then moved with intent. Brian Fenton’s 17th minute score a case in point, gathering the ball deep on the right flank, then driving hard along the endline and finishing neatly. Further back David O’Hanlon was nailing his kickouts, going long to great joy and equal the one time when Derry got in behind the cover as Niall Loughlin’s 26th minute shot was blocked. Lee Gannon also shone in his contributions when he rampaged forward.
And yet despite their position of control, they couldn’t close this game out. Gareth McKinless came on to hurt them with his front-foot style, Derry’s turnover count was spiked as exemplified by the early second-half robbing of James McCarthy in possession and their score-taking improved greatly.
Still after Niall Toner’s goal, it appeared Dublin had weathered the storm to go two clear. Ciaran Kilkenny was responsible for the burst that moved them 0-12 to 1-7 ahead, even if it was perplexing that he opted to punch one point when Cormac Costello was alone at the back post and inviting the opportunity to palm to the net.
But this was another example that Dublin’s aura is not what it was and Derry’s improvement after the break was striking. Oisin McWilliams and Lachlan Murray kicked beautiful points when the need was greatest. It was fine margins in the end of course, Rogers squeezing a winning point out of the last play of the game.
The impact of this game will become clearer as the season progressed. Derry’s favourite tag for promotion just got warmer, Dublin are still in pole position to grab that second place and will be nourished by the exposure to a serious test.
But for Derry it was a game where they needed to stand up to signify their developing status, a need that increased all the more by the ‘stand-offish’ tone, as Rory Gallagher described afterwards, in their opening half showing.
They’ll hope to build on this statement win. For Dublin, after all their early positivity, the faltering when it came to closing out the game will give them pause for thought.
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