Spring is evident in Derry's step

"WE ARE in a good position now but the Ulster championship, you have to win three real tough games in order to win it. So, one down." Kevin McGuckin stood in the baking heat, hands on hips and happily considered Derry's situation.

The league champions celebrated heartily at the final whistle but it all boils down to a single victory in a traditional provincial rivalry. It meant everything to them but it can only be allowed to mean so much. As Kevin McCloy put it, "I would trade a league title for any championship win. Championships are what we are about."

Still, as the crowd of 17,040 watched Derry boss proceedings over the last 20 minutes of a gripping contest, the benefits of their recent spring performances were plain to see.

"I think we hit four wides in the first four minutes. We told them to keep at it, to get possession to the forwards," smiled Paddy Crozier.

"You can think what you want but they were the hungrier team in the first half there. We were maybe shooting under pressure. We are lucky to get out of this after hitting 11 wides. Very lucky. Maybe we have got mentally tougher but time will only tell. Football is all about mountains. You have to be mature when you come into a pitch like this.

"We knew rightly that we were coming in to the belly of the dragon here. We hadn't won in nine years, I was here last year when Armagh were nipped at the very death and maybe there were signs of that there at the death but we got away with it."

It was a fine afternoon for the Derry boss, who engaged in a chess match with Brian McIver, radically altering his defensive positions after half-time. The Donegal manager left the field quickly and couldn't hide his dejection as he delivered a terse review of the game from the doorstep of the team dressingroom.

Behind him, in a hallway, Neil McGee sat alone on a metal beer barrel. He looked completely drained and listened impassively as McIver talked about Donegal's latest Ulster heartbreak. No Ulster title since 1992 and none for another year now.

"Disappointed. Played well in the first half but unfortunately didn't sustain it. No doubt, Derry were the better side in the second half. I thought a lot of things went their way, to put it diplomatically as that, but on the other side of it, they were bigger and stronger. Good game of football but definitely we didn't sustain our first-half performance."

He sighed when asked about some of the decisions that went against Donegal, particularly the moment when they were whistled for incorrectly kicking a sideline ball, an infringement that resulted in Conleth Gilligan nailing a huge free.

"Serious, serious," McIver said. "But I have to say, I felt they got away with a serious amount of charging. Maybe Derry see it differently. A lot of the decisions were . . . but if you open your mouth, you will get six months or something. So I'll not open my mouth."

As McGuckin strolled off the field, he was asked about his view of Paddy Bradley's performance. It was another double-digit day for the All Star. "Ten points? I knew he got a few there but he is something special. I know that from marking him myself. He has got very strong and once he gets a ball in tight he is very hard to stop. I am glad he is on our side."