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Were poor in general, too much going sideways with both teams playing 15 inside the 45, unlike the last day were we tried to push up more. Very tight pitch, barely won a broke ball yesterday, guys go to fist a ball with no understanding from Derry players where its been fisted too. When McGuigan double marked we don't have any real options to take on the scoring, get 2/3 men injured and we be in trouble, Bench nowhere near strong enough for the best 26 on the county.

Current Ulster Champions, its Feb, we're unbeaten in the league... You're a hard man to please WW! 

To push on to the next level the squad needs to be stronger. Derry are not pulling in from all the clubs like our neighbours. Donegal have lads from Intermediate and Junior making an impact.

Good to see promotion and relegation in the club leagues again. Decoupling them from the championship should keep a few clubs happy too.

It is alright. As long as county players are free this year to play club games now that there is relegation from the league.

Paddy Bradley had some home truths to tell the newspapers about the U20s set up this year and broken promises. He's right about the approach that Gallagher has taken to the younger lads being brought in to the senior panel and training with them the week of U20 games. It's short term thinking as he has said. They should have had a chance to to have a good cut at the U20s grade as other counties do. Some of these lads are being flogged. A previous Chairman came out with some stuff about Derry being investors in people. Not much sign of that.

I suppose the Derry team to play Monaghan will not be released until about 7.40 pm tomorrow night !!!!!

It's on the Derry Twitter account.

Be interesting to see how Matthew Downey and young Murray from Desertmartin  adapt to senior county football

Both did well and will mature even more. Matthew has superb potential. Good result tonight but had the chances to win. Thought McGrogan, Doherty, Lynch and McCloskey were excellent. Players challenging for positions - exactly what Gallagher wants. Referring poor and disadvantaged Derry in scoring positions x 4. Anton's debut will silence the media circus! Doire abú - get behind the team!

A few of the younger lads did well but you'd think like all other counties there needs to a progression from minors to 20s to seniors. Throwing a lot of lads in from minors isn't done by top counties, unless there's a David Clifford type player. The last two years U20s level are taken to not worth a look at going by the this. Tohill playing calls the whole idea of it being based on ability and what you have done to deserve a call up into question. Didn't do anything at underage for Derry and hasn't done anything for his club as yet and yet gets a run out for Derry.  All the chat of players from outside Senior level or God forbid from north Derry not being up to the standard is shown to be a nonsense.

We are not a top county - yet!  The Tohill 'opportunity' will run its course and the North Derry thing is so outdated and immature. It is a whole county effort so better to get behind the team.

Very naive. When the squad is based on ability and commitment and not on what your club is, your surname or who your da is we can all get behind the team. Even Chrissy McKaigue was in lads ears during club games this year telling some of the lads as much.

I suppose the Derry team to play Monaghan will not be released until about 7.40 pm tomorrow night !!!!!

It's on the Derry Twitter account.

Be interesting to see how Matthew Downey and young Murray from Desertmartin  adapt to senior county football

Both did well and will mature even more. Matthew has superb potential. Good result tonight but had the chances to win. Thought McGrogan, Doherty, Lynch and McCloskey were excellent. Players challenging for positions - exactly what Gallagher wants. Referring poor and disadvantaged Derry in scoring positions x 4. Anton's debut will silence the media circus! Doire abú - get behind the team!

A few of the younger lads did well but you'd think like all other counties there needs to a progression from minors to 20s to seniors. Throwing a lot of lads in from minors isn't done by top counties, unless there's a David Clifford type player. The last two years U20s level are taken to not worth a look at going by the this. Tohill playing calls the whole idea of it being based on ability and what you have done to deserve a call up into question. Didn't do anything at underage for Derry and hasn't done anything for his club as yet and yet gets a run out for Derry.  All the chat of players from outside Senior level or God forbid from north Derry not being up to the standard is shown to be a nonsense.

Not the best weekend for Derry football. Apart from the scenes on Saturday that went round the country there were some poor one sided games. Then there's the farce of the Newbridge v Claudy game. By all accounts a few pounds lifted from the bookies on that one.

Derry club football is not in a good place when you see how many games are conceded over the weekend again. No development for those younger lads who are in a reserve squad who want to play. Lads will just got have got fed up and will stop playing.

Bit of a joke McKinless back. A man who has shown next to no commitment when he's been in squads the last few times he's be invloved. Disruptive influence - Won't be long before he falls out with Gallagher. Keenan was already dropped last year by him.

I see Damian Cass has been heading up a committee over the past few months on the development of football [didn't see any mention of hurling?] in the county and has made a number of recommendations, the main one for me being the introduction of 4 divisional sides into the senior championship, which I think is a great idea, though not without some downsides.

Other ideas include silent sidelines up to  U13 and 1 touch only up to U13.

Shocking that it has omitted hurling, McEvoy gone because they wont pay outside man too(despite line in the papers), tbh for me it looks like football has become embarrassment for them at inter county level and they are going to throw everything at it, hurlers and dual players will not even be an afterthought.

Divisional sides pointless.

Fact is Derry is too small a county to make a reasonable cut at both codes at inter county level.  We can either continue to be mediocre at both or do what most counties our size do.

First Derry man in an Ulster senior final in years and what a terrible performance. Cassidy had an absolute nightmare. Always refereeing the  game by looking to make sure  he wasn't favouring the underdog. Got stick before from Donegal ones and making sure he wasn't getting it yesterday.

One of the main problems that the Derry Senior County football squad has is the absence of tall,speedy,mobile and natural midfielders  within the panel.They do not have high fielding ball winners who know when to create an overlap,who can pass long,accurately and incisively  and  score freely.

Thus very good and versatile players like Chrissy McKaigue and Ciaran McFaul are overworked trying to play out of their normal and more natural positions.In other words they are the victims of their own versatility and their own phenomenal workrates.In addition the defence misses Chrissy's stability and leadership qualities and  likewise the forward line could do with Ciaran playing in a more advanced position.

Unfortunately, to the best of my knowledge, there are no buddung Jim McKeevers,Anthony Tohills,Fergal Dohertys or Enda Muldoons in the county.So, like at least 20 other counties in Ireland, Derry suffers in this regard when it comes to creating scoring opportunities for their forwards. In essence this is the real reason why Derry find it extremely difficult to score much more easily despite the fact that they often have much more possession but fail to put teams away as it were.

Rory Gallagher was very successful with a, admittedly, very good Donegal side but he also maximised the attainment of a much more limited Frmanagh side.We must live in hope that he will be able to successfully marry the younger talents of the skilful Niall Loughlin,Odhran Lynch,Padraic McGrogan,Conor McCluskey,Alex Doherty,Niall Keenan and Ben McCarron to the leadership qualities of the McKaigue brothers,Enda Lynn,Brendan Rogers and Ciaran McFaul.If he does so their combined performances will out weigh their individual talents and Derry will be a more viable Division Two side, if not this year, definitely next.It is very much a slow but progressive and incremental pathway back to the top table for this Derry side.If Gallager and his management team stick to this type of a concerted effort they will have done  Derry some service.Doire Abu.

Sure you never know with Derry. There's likely to be a new list of new up and coming hopefuls for the future this time next year. Last year you would have said the likes of Coney,McGill,Concannon,Quinn were all looking as if maybe at least one or two could make the break through, especially McGill. The only thing consistent is a few lads who haven't really cut it at top County level for a few years despite being there for a long time and getting plenty of opportunity, plus a couple who who are in and out every other year. 

In yesterday's Irish News former top class GAA journalist,Paddy Heaney. was fulsome in his praise for new Derry football manager Rory Gallagher.He maintained that the future  of the Oak Leaf County could be very promising under his stewardship.

He said that in order to become great again all the County now needed was an inspirational player, like the legendary American Super Bowl  quarterback of yesteryear Joe Montana.Has anybody spotted a potential Joe Montana anywhere within the county?!

Haven't seen any real leaders or inspirational players about Derry. No Murphy, McManus or Fentons although Rodgers looks to have the potential to be that type of leader. Hopefully some of the younger lads might come through as those type of characters. At the minute we probably just need a group playing as a team and not doing their own thing when the pressure comes on.

So you Red think that the Antrim Lad is having a go at you Derry ones because youse think you should be winning home matches. That's it. Jesus wept, Restore I wouldnt go there. Youd be entering unchartered waters!!

The Hoganstand is a good wee discussion board, so it is!

Off you go then. Your point that we think we should be in div 1 is nonsense. All comments  and supporters are saying we should win home games as anyone in any league should  think
- you keep coming back about us being deluded.  I' sure all those on hoganstand will say aye you're right all the time.

I have no problem sliding on trust me we have enough to do this side of the Bann. But stop deluding yourselves that youse are a Div 1 team in disguise.  At least we accept where we are atm, div 4 and working hard to escape from it. A few Derry posters here are realistic, but the vast majority are living on past glories. A reality check would do most of you no harm. You cant beat Leitrim at home. Start from there and fill your boots because that's where Derry is atm. Fact.

Words of great wisdom and insight - not. There's no one in Derry thinks we are a division 1 side.  As i say you'd be better off focusing on your own county than worrying about someone else's- fact.

Looks like you've hit a raw nerve, Bannside - always a sign that you are getting near the truth!

No raw nerve. Nobody on here or few Derry people think we should be at the top or just because we were competitive before have a right to win games. Don't think we should be beating teams at home in this division? No belief never mind pride ?

You don't think we should be beating teams at home?  Strange statement.

That was a question to you ? Read it again. You're  the one agreeing with the Antrim lad having a go at Derry supporters for thinking we should be winning home games. We are were we are but any county or club has a belief  they should win home games.

I have no problem sliding on trust me we have enough to do this side of the Bann. But stop deluding yourselves that youse are a Div 1 team in disguise.  At least we accept where we are atm, div 4 and working hard to escape from it. A few Derry posters here are realistic, but the vast majority are living on past glories. A reality check would do most of you no harm. You cant beat Leitrim at home. Start from there and fill your boots because that's where Derry is atm. Fact.

Words of great wisdom and insight - not. There's no one in Derry thinks we are a division 1 side.  As i say you'd be better off focusing on your own county than worrying about someone else's- fact.

Looks like you've hit a raw nerve, Bannside - always a sign that you are getting near the truth!

No raw nerve. Nobody on here or few Derry people think we should be at the top or just because we were competitive before have a right to win games. Don't think we should be beating teams at home in this division? No belief never mind pride ?