Dominant Derry leave no room for doubt this time

Derry produced a barnstorming performance to bamboozle a less assured Antrim in this replay in front of a 30,000 crowd at Casement Park yesterday.

"We were better prepared this time," said Derry manager Eamonn Coleman. And, indeed, Antrim's worst fears crystallised after only 20 seconds when Derry corner forward Pat Bradley caught Anthony Tohill's early ball and buried it in the back of Sean McGreevy's net.

Although Antrim recovered to with a their second goal, 2-1 to 1-3 thanks to two goals, the second scored by Sheeny McQuillan from the penalty spot on 19 minutes, Derry looked a team in a different league.

Antrim's remarkable recovery was acquired from scraps of play. McQuillan's goal came at a time when Antrim had only mounted two other attacks. The pattern was decidedly one-way traffic with Tohill, before he had to retire injured in the second half, and his brilliant midfield partner Dermot Heaney simply lording it over their rivals.

Manager Coleman was emphatic in naming Heaney his man of the match but the Derry performance of slick incisive passing, clever running off the ball and general teamwork was built around the attitude of the whole team.

"We were focused on an Ulster semi-final, not on whom we were playing," said Heaney. "Our attitude was all important. We gave goals away in the first match but we were much better prepared this time and were hell-bent on not giving away any more goals in the second half."

Early switches saw Pat McCann going to the 40 to lead the Antrim attack and he left Henry Downey for dead for the first Antrim goal after 11 minutes. Although Downey was forced into pulling Kevin Brady down to concede the penalty, the Derry veteran went on to play a huge role, flanked effectively by Gary Coleman and Paul McFlynn.

By the time Antrim took the lead, albeit momentarily, the astonishing statistic was that Derry were a point behind having outstripped, outpaced and outfoxed opponents who were barely able to get the ball into Derry's half.

McQuillan's goal served as an extra spur to the entire Derry team, who seemed prepared to die for each other. Tohill levelled within minutes with a 45-metre free and further points from Tohill (two), Pat Bradley (two) and Muldoon went unanswered before the interval.

Heaney was not complacent about Derry's five-point interval lead (1-9 to 2-1). "We led by seven in the first match but we were determined like never before to go hell for leather in the second half."

Ten first-half scores against three looked ominous for an Antrim team that was flying on one wing, given their midfield and half-forward problems, but Derry's propensity to shoot wides must have given hope to the underdogs.

It was blatantly obvious that Antrim, with Kevin Doyle, Kevin Brady, Ronan Hamill and McCann playing out of position, were still a force on the break. They had recorded three scores, two goals and a point, on only three attacks in the first 20 minutes and the worry for Derry was that they were capable of gaining some more good scores against the run of play.

But the reality was that instead of being able to concentrate on setting up movements from the middle, too many Antrim players were occupied in trying to prevent Derry front-runners Eamonn Burns, Dermot Dougan and Enda Muldoon from doing further damage.

The forced retirement of inspirational Derry captain Tohill with a hip injury was not allowed to unsettle the Derry machine. Enda Muldoon came out from full forward to join Heaney and the Derry dominance remained intact.

Joe Brolly, still recovering from injury, spent most of the first half warming up on the line. When he was introduced for the second half he made an immediate impact and tacked on two points.

Niall MacOscair moved forward from corner back, bringing Ronan Hamill with him, a factor that helped to enhance Derry's general flair to outwit struggling opponents.

Antrim's failure to score off good chances from the 19th minute of the first half to the closing stages of the match militated hugely against them and only briefly did they relive the joys of the drawn game.

The VIP box housed President Mary McAleese - who was introduced to the teams - Gerry Adams, Martin McGuinness and John Hume. And the post-match "entertainment" was provided by two cartwheeling streakers who somehow escaped the notice of tight security to gain access to the pitch.