Why the Rebels shouldn’t fear the Ulstermen
Despite Derry’s Ulster final win as well as their star performances in the group games, all focus has been on Cork’s underdog tale.
The Rebels were a point down against Louth in the 57th minute but won. They came from six points behind against Mayo with 13 minutes of normal time left to win by three and trailed Roscommon by four points in the 30th minute.
It’s a championship tale the fans love to get behind.
Remember Cork drew with Derry in the league too – albeit the Ulster side fielded an understrength team.
But are the Oak Leaf county all they are cracked up to be?
Donegal’s Brendan McCole did a superb man-marking job on McGuigan while Monaghan’s decision to man-mark midfielders Glass and Rogers greatly reduced their influence.
But Derry had an extra week to prepare, and they arrive in Croke Park on the back of an excellent league run – with the exception of the Division 2 final.
They appear to have coped well with the unexpected departure of Rory Gallagher and have improved since last year with more variety in their play and a willingness to commit more players to attack.
Yes, McGuigan is on fire as mentioned above, though there is an over-dependence on him.
The fear from the underdog’s point of view is, will Cork score enough against a very compact defence? Time will tell.
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