Written by Sean Casey
Derry host London Owenbeg in the third round of the league this weekend and is expected to have a difficult day at the office. Oakleafers have made a good start to the season, picking up four points from their first two games.
Johnny McGarvey’s side defeated Ulster rivals Tyrone and Donegal in the first two rounds, beating Wicklow in the second round before losing to Roscommon, with London standing in their way to 3-3.
Looking back at last year’s Christie Ring Cup encounter, McGarvey won’t be taking anything for granted this weekend.
“Aside from the Meath game, the end of last year’s game in London was the toughest for us,” Derry said. “It was a hard-fought game of hurling, their team is full of really, really good players and we probably stole a little bit of that last year.
“We have no illusions about what could happen because if they had done that (London had won) they or Tyrone could have qualified for the Christie Ring final.
“When they lost to Roscommon we might have been a bit taken aback by the first result, but then it was business as usual against Wicklow so we expect a really tough test.
“They have Jack Golding, who is a super player. I think he went 3-11 last weekend, so we will definitely have our hands full in London.
Last year’s competition was in London, but McGarvey is pleased to have less travel to Derry this season. “Tyrone are at home and Donegal are away, just an hour away.
“We have London and Roscommon at home, so we only take one really long trip.”
That’s Wicklow. The game went in our favor and everyone achieved their goals.
It’s a home game. ”
McGarvey insists there is still room for improvement for his side, who have an impressive record of 2-20 with wins over Tyrone and Donegal, and could have actually scored more on the final day. do.
“We’ll be happy with the start, but we’re probably not at the level we want. We’re happy to have won the first two games, but we’ve got a lot to work on in these two games as well,” McGarvey added. .
“I would have been very disappointed with the performance in the first half against Donegal and against Tyrone I didn’t play as well for about 10 or 15 minutes, but it’s still early days and everyone’s just trying to get up to speed. is.
“It was disappointing because we had a lot of wides and shots against Donegal. 2-20 is a great score in both games, but it probably should have been higher, especially against Donegal.
“We also missed a lot of scoring chances, 4-40 in the two games. In the last two games we have conceded 0-19 and 0-16 and we haven’t conceded a goal yet, so overall We are quite satisfied with where we are.”