Preview: Dublin v Derry Allianz NFL

Wed, 28th February 2024

By Conor Martin

Dublin are looking to build on an excellent showing last time out against Kerry when we travel north to take on Derry in Round 5 of the Allianz Football League.

After suffering one-point defeats against Monaghan and Mayo, we kickstarted our league campaign with wins against Roscommon and Kerry.

Con O’Callaghan stepped in as captain in the absence of James McCarthy and he and the Boys in Blue were ruthless in front of goals, with the stand-in skipper bagging 3-4 for himself as Dessie Farrell’s men recorded a 10-point win at Croker.

This weekend’s game at Celtic Park is arguably the Dubs' trickiest fixture of our league campaign. Saturday’s hosts have a 100% record from their four games, including an impressive away win over Kerry on the opening weekend of the league.

Last time out, they recorded a solid win against Galway. The Tribesmen may have had quite a substantial injury list, but Derry deserve full credit for grinding out the win. In the first-half, Eoin McEvoy helped his side to a two-point lead at the break. Shortly after the restart, Shane McGuigan converted a penalty. Ciarán McFaul, substitute Donncha Gilmore and a McGuigan free ensured Derry found themselves six points up. The game would then be put to bed when Paul Cassidy palmed the ball in with 55 minutes on the clock gone before Derry ultimately ran out 3-10 to 1-11 winners.

There are bound to be intriguing matchups all over the park on Saturday, like Brian Fenton v Conor Glass in midfield, for example. McGuigan has been in red-hot form for Derry so far in this league and Mickey Harte’s men will be hoping he can continue his rich vein of form. The Dublin backline will be looking to keep McGuigan and his fellow attackers quiet. But they will know the in-form Oakleafs pose a big threat to Dublin.

Fortunately, Dublin have a wide range of firepower at our disposal to match Derry’s attack. As well as O'Callaghan, the likes of Seán Bugler, Ciarán Kilkenny and Paddy Small will be key as we look to build on our good form this weekend.

Those not joining the Dubs on a road trip this Saturday can watch the game live on RTÉ 2 from 5pm.