Derry v Galway AISF Sat 9th July 5.30pm Croke Park

[gallsman]

Ah here, Comer got a couple of goals yesterday (one of which was into an empty net. Couldn't get over how much the commentary team were raving about it as an unreal finish) and O'Neill has been up and down this year. Let's not talk about either of them, at least not yet, having anything like the same X or Y or Z factor as Clifford.

It's perfectly feasible to acknowledge that Derry has a great year, way beyond expectations and accept that they royally fucked it yesterday. One or two players aside, they were dreadful, which wasn't helped by the fact that Gallagher was completely incapable of making any sort of adjustment even as the game was starting to get away from him.

I'm not one of these "change the rules because the football is shite" but Gallagher's style really is horrible. Deserves credit for where he's brought them but don't know how much more there is in them.

[Mario]

I think there'll be more to come from this Derry side in the coming years, but they really need to unearth a couple more quality forwards.  When your main scoring threat is coming from the defence then you'll always have problems.  Outside of maybe Shane McGuigan there is no one in that forward line you'd fancy on scoring a couple of points a game.  And even though McGuigan is their main forward he still doesn't have the same 'x' factor as say a Comer, Clifford or O'Neill.

I think mcguigan has the potential to be in that bracket. I know Comer is flavour of the month now but I've seen him have average games. Rian also wasn't great in the Galway game. Mcguigan has had a brilliant season but agree needs support. In those tight games if it's not on his left peg I'm not confident Derry can find a score. One obvious improvement will hopefully be the return of McFaul who imo is one of the best players in the country.

[FermGael]

Galway had their homework done and adapted during the game.
In the first 20 minutes Derry got a series of short kickouts away and this have Derry a platform to attack.
Once Galway stopped that Derry struggled to win ball of their own kickout.
Galway didn't panic when, like the first 15 minutes of the Armagh game, their forwards were making poor decisions and kicking wides.
Defensively Galway were excellent and they denied Derry the chance to counter attack.  They didn't get drawn in and didn't commit silly fouls .  They turned Derry over a number of times in the first half and this sucked the life out of Derry.  Also you can see that Derry put alot of emphasis on scoring a goal or two in the first half. When that didn't happen and Galway were still in touch you could see that Derry were out of ideas.

Comer was sensational I thought. He got very limited ball but when he was 1 on 1 or even 2 on 1, he scored. Rodgers is a great player but can be got at defensively. Comer did that today with the his first goal and the 2 points in the first half.
I thought the Galway midfield was excellent. Won or broke alot of primary ball and have Galway a great platform.
Also the results maybe highlights that for all the chat, maybe Ulster football isn't as strong as what people think. Galway beat Armagh (and they should have been much more comfortable winners ) and Derry with ease.

Derry had a great year and should take a lot from it.
Rory ball can only take you so far and it was very frustrating to see that Derry only really had the one way of playing .  They didn't have a plan b. Like Donegal back in the day they now have to modify the way they play if they are to win an All-Ireland.

[onefineday]

I think there'll be more to come from this Derry side in the coming years, but they really need to unearth a couple more quality forwards.  When your main scoring threat is coming from the defence then you'll always have problems.  Outside of maybe Shane McGuigan there is no one in that forward line you'd fancy on scoring a couple of points a game.  And even though McGuigan is their main forward he still doesn't have the same 'x' factor as say a Comer, Clifford or O'Neill.

Comer may have been man of the match yesterday, but he's not near the level of O'Neill and definitely not Clifford. I think Derry be happy with mcguigan over comer any day.
A few have said it earlier, the team with the better spread of players won, disappointing for Derry to bow out in such a fashion, but they didn't have the imagination or importantly the players willing to try a shot over galway's ultra defensive system. The longer that went on, the more Galway were able to commit to it, safe that Derry couldn't point from distance.
A few other talking points, especially the Hawkeye point. Quite simply what happened can't happen again and doesn't happen in other field sports. Once the decision is made that's it, it can't be revisited as the game changes from that point onwards. If that had been given, it's very likely the ht score would have been 4-3 as there's no basis for the ref playing the extra extra time when comer got galway's last score of the half.
Better team won, but credit to the effort those Derry players made to get there totally unexpectedly and a few years early imo. Gallagher was undoubtedly the catalyst behind it, has been tactically superb for the last 2 years. 3 defeats in two seasons, Donegal once and Galway twice prove that. Pity that changes in the 2nd half didn't show on the pitch as players just had an off day.
I always felt that yesterday's winners will be hugely up against it in the final and that hasn't changed, at best it might be a 2018 style final, half respectable on the scoreboard, but never really a contest in doubt.  That said, Galway's defensiveness might keep the first half interesting and it'll be informative to see how Kerry/Dublin go about penetrating it.

[Eire90]

you could say the easy quarter final might not have  been a help for derry either who knows.

[seafoid]

Don't accept that line of thinking atall. Derry were level at half time in an All Ireland semi final and blew it. There is no solace in thinking about next year or beyond. Teams they edged this year will regroup next year and come again. That Tyrone squad might never get back to an AI Final but they took it when they'd the door opened. Genuinely think Derry were good enough to win it this year but simply fcuked it up.

Throne didn't just roll up and carpe diem last year. All Ireland wins are iterative. Tyrone had lost an all Ireland final 3 years previously. 7 of the 2018 team were on the 2021 team 3 years later. That might give Derry an idea.
8 changes - that allows for players being dropped because they are not good enough, good younger players etc
You could even argue that the Dark ages were part of the process that culminated in the all Ireland
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ad_0YmfMkP4
Derry have a few years to get to Shangri La .

[onefineday]

you could say the easy quarter final might not have  been a help for derry either who knows.

No, that was the game Derry needed, believe me, we were well tested going into that game yesterday, a tight game Vs mayo or Armagh could have gone either way. We had a great year, got a croke park win, scored 5 goals and into an all Ireland semi where we dared dream we might make our third final ever (it might not have been pretty what happened when we got there though).

[OakLeaf]

Doire have given us all a great year. This team will come back from the disappointment of yesterday. This is the way you get experience. Sometimes it's through harsh lessons. Galway are further along the road than us and it showed yesterday but this current Doire team have a developing character which will stand to them. Good luck to Galway in the final. Youse have the players to lift Sam.

[lenny]

I think there'll be more to come from this Derry side in the coming years, but they really need to unearth a couple more quality forwards.  When your main scoring threat is coming from the defence then you'll always have problems.  Outside of maybe Shane McGuigan there is no one in that forward line you'd fancy on scoring a couple of points a game.  And even though McGuigan is their main forward he still doesn't have the same 'x' factor as say a Comer, Clifford or O'Neill.

Comer may have been man of the match yesterday, but he's not near the level of O'Neill and definitely not Clifford. I think Derry be happy with mcguigan over comer any day.
A few have said it earlier, the team with the better spread of players won, disappointing for Derry to bow out in such a fashion, but they didn't have the imagination or importantly the players willing to try a shot over galway's ultra defensive system. The longer that went on, the more Galway were able to commit to it, safe that Derry couldn't point from distance.
A few other talking points, especially the Hawkeye point. Quite simply what happened can't happen again and doesn't happen in other field sports. Once the decision is made that's it, it can't be revisited as the game changes from that point onwards. If that had been given, it's very likely the ht score would have been 4-3 as there's no basis for the ref playing the extra extra time when comer got galway's last score of the half.
Better team won, but credit to the effort those Derry players made to get there totally unexpectedly and a few years early imo. Gallagher was undoubtedly the catalyst behind it, has been tactically superb for the last 2 years. 3 defeats in two seasons, Donegal once and Galway twice prove that. Pity that changes in the 2nd half didn't show on the pitch as players just had an off day.
I always felt that yesterday's winners will be hugely up against it in the final and that hasn't changed, at best it might be a 2018 style final, half respectable on the scoreboard, but never really a contest in doubt.  That said, Galway's defensiveness might keep the first half interesting and it'll be informative to see how Kerry/Dublin go about penetrating it.

Correct about the hawkeye. If the ref doesn't stop the play to look at the decision Derry more than likely get a short kickout away and keep possession to ht. That means they come out in the second half with a lead. It worked badly against Derry yesterday because the Conor Glass point looked clearly inside the post also.

[seafoid]

Don't want to hear anymore talk of Rory being some sort of genius manager. Took a game plan which failed 11 years ago and tried to do it again. Christ even mcguinness has had the sense to stay away knowing that limited safety first approach doesn't work anymore.

Ironically if Derry had of attacked the first half they could have been out of sight.

There is a reason he failed at 3 different teams.

With all that said you'd have thought there was no way possible his team would have destroyed the All Ireland Chanpions in their back yard... he obviously hasn't a clue!

Different dynamic, where we have never lost against Galway in the Championship, for example, and your lads have never won.

But Tyrone have been hammered by Mayo on several occasions

2021 has erased that particular jibe from the Maigh Eo buachaillí, and no better way to eliminate that specific omission than in an AIF itself, however, I was only referencing Galway, not Mayo, so please stick to the subject.

Mayo beat Tyrone twice in the qualifiers, however, 2013 and 2016. So they are winning on away goals.

[Rossfan]

Let go of the "Hawkeye excuse".
Galway outscored Derry 2-8 to 0-3 between 20th and 70th minutes.

[armaghniac]

It would have been an almighty mess if Hawkeye had been acting the bollix in the Armagh game as it was so close, but in this case I think Galway were going to win anyway

[6th sam]

I can't believe Derry just rolled over during HT and agreed that the score from the 45 be allowed.
Gallagher could well have argued that the time it took to check Hawkeye denied Derry the chance for a quick kick out. Galway won the subsequent kick out and Comer scored.
Also, the Glass effort was never shown again after being given wide, despite looking like a point to most people. If the game had been closer at the end the GAA would be in an awkward spot.

The Hawkeye incidents are ridiculous tbh. Hundreds of thousands invested in a system that doesn't work. Is it not probable that the error in the system was technical tá errorred to níl . With glass point also clearly a point . They should scrap hawkeye and get their money back. There have not been enough human errors by umpires to warrant investing in this joke.

That said , and accepting that the ref gave Galway the run of the green on several occasions , Galway were clearly the better side .
Much as they have excellent forwards, their defensive system was actually better than Derry's.
Derry totally dominated the first half but their only scores were ultimately down to brilliant individual evasion to work tap over openings. Other than that Derry didn't look like scoring. Ultimately they were caught out by not having enough forward talent to keep the scoreboard ticking over . But they're young and inexperienced at this level , they'll improve and they'll be hoping a marquee forward or two emerges. Thought mccloskey performance was outstanding, pace, discipline, quality tackling . Ironically his attacking approach highlighted Derry's problem yesterday . He got himself into excellent positions but didn't have the confidence in his shooting ability.
Even though Galway were best with Comer being the main difference, galway's ease of winning and scoring scoreable frees edged them into their position of dominance .
Gallagher has been credited with Derry's success but in reality their underage success over last few years put them in this position . Gallagher's approach was found wanting yesterday , and only a massive improvement in attacking creativity and scoring capability will win them an all-ireland . It's one thing banging in 5 goals in a once off match, it's another breaking down well organised defences of the very top teams. Derry can win an all-ireland but a lot of work to do, it remains to be seen if Gallagher has the qualities to
Lead them there.

[seafoid]

Derry's process loyalty and lack of Plan b reminds me of The Irish soccer team. With them the question was whether the players were good enough for anything else .
Ultimately Derry lost because they couldn't score enough. Would any other system have worked ? Probably not.

[trailer]

Derry's process loyalty and lack of Plan b reminds me of The Irish soccer team. With them the question was whether the players were good enough for anything else .
Ultimately Derry lost because they couldn't score enough. Would any other system have worked ? Probably not.

This is it. A limited team will find joy in that rigid defensive system but when a game needs a different approach they have no answers. Tyrone played a variety of different ways last year in their successful All Ireland run. But Derry have no plan B and Gallagher just let them do the same thing over and over in the second half when it wasn't working was disappointing too.
The game was dire. Galway played well in the second 35 but that was it. I watched the Cavan Westmeath game before hand and it was much more enjoyable.
Few other points, Lynch doesn't have the mobility up and down the pitch for the fly goalie role. The goal wasn't his fault Glass got turned over very easily but he was puffed trying to get back a number of times. He didn't offer enough going forward either. Was only a matter of time until he was caught out. 
Galway were really well setup on the full press Kickout. I loved that. It was a key part of their success.
Derry's big players were anonymous. Glass, McGuigan, McKague and Herron all very quiet.
Comer and Walsh are serious talents. Thought in the first half they got the Galway charge going when it was all Derry.

Finally Hawkeye is some pile of shite. It's costs €7-€8k per matchday. Ridiculous. GAA would want some rebate from them.