Depleted Derry have tough start to league campaign

GREAT rivals Derry and Tyrone will meet at Celtic Park in the opening round of the National football League Division One on Saturday evening at 7.30pm and while Tyrone have their injury problems it pales in comparison to Derry's.

Enda Muldoon is out with a broken foot bone, Paddy Bradley has a heel injury, Kevin McGuckin is recovering from knee surgery, new boy Stephen Cleary has a quad muscle injury and Kevin McCloy and Niall McCusker have not resumed training after injury.

Add to that the retirements of Paul Murphy and Sean Martin Lockhart and the unavailability of Barry and Sean Leo McGoldrick who are travelling and wont be back until later this month.

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Tyrone too will be without top scoring forward Stephen O'Neill who dislocated his elbow in a fall last Saturday in the McKenna Cup final against Donegal. Captain Brian Dooher is not yet in full training after surgery and Michael McGee is out with a serious shoulder injury.

Still Mickey Harte's side look to have the greater options and he is likely to mix the experienced men with some of his sparkling new boys like Kyle Coney and Niall McKenna.

Derry looked a bit sluggish in the McKenna Cup and this was perhaps due to the heavy training they were doing. Tyrone had two extra games in that competitions and that will give them a definite advantage in match practice.

The teams met twice lest year with Tyrone taking the honours on both occasions. They won the league game at Omagh by 0-14 to 0-11 due mainly to Derry not taking their chances. In the championship at Casement Park in June it was easy for Tyrone against a badly under strength Derry team who managed to score just seven points.

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The likely absence of Paddy Bradley will be a big set back for Derry, the Glenullin man usually has a good day out against the Red Hand defence but now the leadership onus will fall on younger brother Eoin a player of outstanding talent.

James Kielt and Seamus Bradley are the only two other noted scorers in the Derry attack.

Damien Cassidy may opt for a three man midfield of Joe Diver, Fergal Doherty and Patsy Bradley in an attempt to get a foothold in an area where Tyrone are not at their strongest. If the visitors do get a grip in this area they have front men like Sean Cavanagh, Tommy McGuigan, Martin Penrose and Colm McCullagh who will snap up every chance they get.

Derry will have a new look defence with captain Gerard O'Kane likely to start at full back and Mark Lynch better known as a forward at centre half. The ever reliable Barry McGuigan can play anywhere at the back. Liam Hinphey, Brian Mullan, Brian Og McAlary, Michael McGoldrick and Dermot McBride will also be in the shake up for a defensive position while the goalkeeper position will be between Barry Gillis, John Deighan and the promising Martin Dunne.

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It will be interesting to see if manager Cassidy gives a start to two of the rising talents in the county Lavey's Cailen O'Boyle and Coleraine's Declan Mullan. O'Boyle had an impressive McKenna Cup campaign with University of Ulster Jordanstown and Mullan played well against Antrim before going off with a slight injury.

This is a very tough Division One this year with Kerry, Cork, Monaghan, Dublin, Mayo and Galway making up the eight.

The team that loses on Saturday could have a struggle to stay up so there will be everything to play for but Tyrone will go in as favourites even though they have not had a good league campaign for the last five years.

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