Under new management, Galway away to Derry first time out

By JIM CARNEY A NEW ERA dawns for Galway football, away to Derry in the first round of the National League next Sunday with a new management team. And the expectation that patience will be required, on and off the field, as Galway build a new panel and look to the future after ten barren years at Senior Championship level. In that decade, following the glorious victory over Meath in the 2001 All-Ireland final by 0-17 to 0-8, Galway could not do any better outside Connacht in the Championship than one win (over Louth, at Parnell Park, Dublin, in the 2004 'back door' series, by 2-8 to 0-9). In their League, Division Two campaign coming up, Galway will play Louth in the second round, on Sunday week, February 12th at Pearse Stadium. Galway footballers reached three National League finals from Division 1 in the last decade, losing all three. They were pipped by Mayo in season 2000â€â€œ01 (0â€â€œ13 to 0â€â€œ12), and lost the other two to Kerry, in 2004 by 3â€â€œ11 to 1â€â€œ16, and in 2006 by 2â€â€œ11 to 0â€â€œ11. Last year Galway (and Monaghan) were relegated to Division Two, joining Derry who were relegated the previous year, along with their great Northern rivals Tyrone. It's bad enough that Galway haven't won a Championship match at Croke Park since 2001, but the last two League campaigns also told a sad tale of decline in a traditionally great football county. Last year, Galway finished on three points (a win over Armagh and a draw with Dublin) â€â€ in sharp contrast to the top of the Division 1 table, where Dublin had 13 points and Cork and Kerry 10. Two years ago, Galway finished with three wins, on six points â€â€œ half the table-topping 12 points earned by Mayo. Derry and Tyrone were relegated on four points each. It was a sign of what was to come for the legendary Armagh man Joe Kernan, in charge of Galway in 2010, that in April that year his team lost to Derry at Pearse Stadium, 2-13 to 1-12. In 2009, the Herald reported that Galway (under the management of Liam Sammon) started both halves at Watty Graham Park, Maghera, Co. Derry badly but showed character to recover for a draw: Derry 0-13 Galway 2-7, the goals by Paul Conroy and Michael Meehan (penalty). The Bradley brothers, two brilliant forwards who've had a lot of injury problems in the past twelve months, put the Galway defence under huge pressure in that game although, to his great credit, Damien Burke did eventually win his duel with Paddy Bradley. 2008: Div. 1, Round 5. Galway 3-9 Derry 0-13, at Pearse Stadium; the goals by Padraic Joyce, Michael Meehan (penalty) and Matthew Clancy, and Galway full-back Finian Hanley held Paddy Bradley scoreless. Again, the winning manager was Liam Sammon. 2007: Div. 1, Round 1. Derry 0-12 Galway 0-7, at Pearse Stadium. Paddy and Eoin Bradley scored five points between them and their father Liam was a Derry selector that year; he has since been the Antrim team manager. 2006. Div. 1, Round 1. Derry 1-11 Galway 0-7, at Celtic Park, Derry. Galway were then under the management of Peter Ford. So, in their last five National League clashes, Derry won three, Galway one, and one draw. Galway had three managers in that period: Peter Ford, Liam Sammon and Joe Kernan, before Tomás Ó Flatharta had one year at the helm (2011). Derry have changed their manager quite often, too. John Brennan is in his second year in charge, having taken over from Damian Cassidy. Before that, Paddy Crozier's reign (2006 â€â€œ 2008) included a National League title in the Spring of â€Ëœ08 but it wasn't enough to keep him in the job. Crozier had taken over in late 2005 from Mickey Moran, who was Mayo manager early in the last decade and in more recent times Leitrim manager for three years, to the end of last year's Connacht Championship.   DERRY have welcomed back their top forward of the past decade, Paddy Bradley, but his brother Eoin, another scoring ace, won't be back until April at the earliest, according to reports. The two Bradleys were cruciate ligament victims last year and it's probably fair to say one is as important to the team as the other. At the other end of the field, Kevin McGuckin, an outstanding corner-back for the past ten years, recently announced his retirement. Gone too is the former full-back and NFL-winning captain Kevin McCloy who'd shown great leadership qualities in defence after the retirement of Seán Marty Lockhart. Derry have also lost some long-serving stalwarts further out the field. Last Saturday evening they lost the McKenna Cup final to Tyrone, with whom Derry have a keen and sometimes tough rivalry. According to all reports, Derry were badly affected by the early sending-off, on a straight red card, of experienced midfielder James Conway. Galway manager Alan Mulholland will announce his starting line-out this evening (Wednesday).   A Galway Supporters Bus (Lally Coaches) will head North on Saturday at 1.00 p.m., with overnight accommodation organised in Derry City centre. All enquiries to 087 9300973.