Derry SFC reaches the semi-final stages

O’Neill’s Senior Football Championship semi-finals

THE 16 starters are now down to four and they are the same quartet that has filled the slots for the third successive year.
Each of the four has been county champions since 2019 when Magherafelt came out of the blue to shock Glen who were seeking their first.
The Rossas were beaten by Slaughtneil in the 2020 final at Bellaghy and, in turn, Slaughtneil were displaced by Glen who took three in a row 2021-23.
Then along came a young Newbridge team who prevented Glen from being the third four in a row team in the county.
Seldom has there been four teams so evenly matched contesting the semi finals.
Of the four remaining Newbridge are the outsiders and they are the holders.

No Derry Managers

At a time when distance is not a problem for clubs recruiting managers it is not exactly a surprise that none of the four semi finals has a manager based in Derry.
Glen have Rory Kavanagh from Letterkenny, an All Ireland winner with Donegal 13 years ago. Newbridge still have the two men who took them to the title last year. They are Gary Hetherington from Tyrone and former Antrim defender Kevin Brady.
The Slaughtneil boss is Mark Doran from Longstone in County Down.
Finally, the Magherafelt manager is no stranger to Derry. He is Gavin ‘Horse’ Devlin, one of the top caches on the circuit. He has also been appointed manager of the Louth county team recently.
He has worked with the Derry county team for a year under Mickey Harte and has also been coach to a number of Derry clubs in the past 20 years.
He has the shortest journey of the managers, hailing from Ardboe in Tyrone close to the Derry border.

Glen v Magherafelt at Owenbeg, 7pm Saturday. Referee: Brendan Quinn

A floodlight game that will see the two very fit teams go head to head in an intriguing affair that looks so evenly balanced.
This is the classic case of experience facing the exuberance of youth which adds to the intrigue of a game that should be a classic.
Between the teams there are quite a number of players who have represented their county at various levels.
The ‘new’ game of Gaelic football suits fast and fit players so that gives Devlin’s charges a better chance than they would have had last year.
Glen, who have contested two All Ireland club finals, winning the latter, built their game around controlled and careful football.
When they got possession they were experts at holding it and rarely giving any wayward passes. They could be outplayed for long periods yet end up winning through the brilliance of Conor Glass.
That was the case when his brilliant goal in the 2023 final saw off St. Brigid’s of Roscommon who had one hand on the Andy Merrigan Cup until that fantastic finish by the sublime midfielder.
Magherafelt are still a work in progress. Go back to their winning team of 2019 and there are only a handful of players still in their 30 man panel.
Their leader for many years, Danny Heavron, hung up the boots at the end of last season so Michael McEvoy, Conor McCluskey Shea McGuckin, Paddy McLarnon and Conor Kearns would have been around then.
Glen, on the other hand, have virtually the same squad with no retirements over the past five years and some good young players coming in to add pace to their panel.
What might be a bit of a handicap for the Maghera men is the lack of game time that some of their key men have got due to injuries.
Ciaran McFaul, Michel Warnock, Danny McDermott and Emmett Bradley have missed a lot of the championship action to date but on the plus side it has given opportunities to Alex Doherty, Stevie O’Hara, Marc Dixon, Peter Bryson and Cahir McCabe to stake a first team place for this ultra important game.

Midfield Could Be Key

The key battleground will be at midfield. There,All Star nominee Conor Glass and his vastly experienced partner Emmett Bradley will be facing two brilliant players in the powerful Dan Higgins, a vastly improved player, and the ever reliable Eoin McEvoy.
In the quarter final the Rossas pair completely overwhelmed the highly rated Bellaghy duo of Peter Cassidy and Oisin McErlean.
In terms of attacking play Glen might have the edge. Jack Doherty, with his power and blistering pace, has been ripping up defences in the three games to date.
It will be quite a contest between him and Conor ‘Clucky’ McCloskey one of the best man markers in the inter county scene.
However, in an overall sense the Magherafelt back line lacks experience with four of them just over 20 years of age.
Glen have had a bit of a cruise to the last four with two wins over second division Banagher and one against a Dungiven team that imploded after that shock first day win over champions Newbridge.
The Rossas have come a harder road - beating Ballinascreen by ten points, Lavey by five and Bellaghy by 12.
Lavey had been one of the best teams in this championship but had to face Slaughtneil as well as Magherafelt.
A hard one to call but the speed of Magherafelt could be a major factor maybe after extra time!

Slaughteneil v Newbridge at Owenbeg, 3pm Sunday. Referee: Martin McErleane

Defending champions Newbridge are the outsiders of the four teams remaining but they will be out to prove a point against what is becoming a new look Slaughtneil team.
In the last few years seven new players have come into Mark Doran’s team and that has given them a freshness that had been missing the past two years when they ran aground against local rivals Glen.
They beat a very good Lavey team in the quarter final despite not playing well in the opening 20 minutes. Their ability to hit goals either set up or finished by Shane McGuigan made the difference in their win over Lavey has made them a team that is so difficult to beat.
Younger players like the O’Mianain brothers, Cahal McKaigue and the two Cassidys, Shea and Eamon, plus the multi talented Fionn McEldowney have gelled well with top quality players like Brendan Rogers, Chrissy McKaigue and Padraig Cassidy Christopher ‘Sammy’ Bradley.
Newbridge, who shocked the football world by beating reigning All Ireland champions Glen last year, have a young and skilful team but consistency has not been great in this championship.
A shock hammering by Dungiven in the opening round was followed by a brilliant display against The Loup. Then, in the quarter final, they had to stretch every sinew to beat Steelstown who came into the game as rank outsiders.
The only team to beat Slaughtneil in the championship over the past four years has been Glen and now that they are out of their shadow they will want to show that they are still a major force in Derry football.
With three former All Stars in their 15 they have the ability to push on.
A lot will depend on what Newbridge team turns up: will it be the one that fell flat against Dungiven, will it be the brilliant one who scored an unanswered 1-25 The Loup or the one who struggled to get the better of what was probably an under rated Steelstown team?
The ‘Bridge won all three adult leagues with only one defeat over the three so they certainly have depth.
Apart from their skill, the Emmett’s have a definite advantage in height all over the field.
In terms of team work and speed that is where the O’Leary’s have the upper hand and it will be an advantage.
Slaughtneil have ‘been there and done it’ they have come harder road to get to the last four and that might just guide them home in what looks to be another must see game.
The return from injury by Padraig Cassidy could be the tipping point.