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BBC News
3 days ago
- General
- BBC News
'No excuses' as Derry face crucial Galway test
Derry boss Paddy Tally has urged his players to rise to the challenge of facing a fired-up Galway in Sunday's crucial All-Ireland Group Four game at Celtic Park (14:00 BST). With Dublin to come in a fortnight, the Oak Leafers must beat last year's All-Ireland finalists to keep alive their hopes of reaching the knockout stages. Derry are winless in 2025, having struggled to cope with injuries to key players, but Tally says there will be no excuses when they host a Tribesmen outfit who lost to Dublin last time out. "Galway are one of the top teams in the country," Tally told BBC Sport NI after his side's defeat by Armagh in round one. "They got their shock against Dublin. You'll not see that Galway team again. You'll see a much more motivated and focused Galway. "But we have them at home. It's on us to make sure we perform. There is no other way of looking at it. There will be no excuses so the performance is key and let's hope we can get a result."Tally insisted Derry must improve their kick-outs after being dominated by Armagh in the middle third at the Athletic Grounds. His hand may be strengthened, however, by the return of goalkeeper Odhran Lynch, who has been named on the bench for the Galway game. "Armagh looked good, at times they were cutting us open and getting scores," added former Tyrone and Kerry coach Tally. "We were loose defensively at times, which wasn't good enough. We struggled on kick-outs. Armagh are strong around the middle and it's something we have to work on. "You can see at times where our players were coming into it. I do think it comes down to not playing for a while but that will not be an excuse against Galway."Derry rallied from nine points to draw against Galway at Celtic Park in Division One earlier this year, but lost 2-14 to 0-15 in last year's All-Ireland round-robin tie.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Kieran McGeeney makes Armagh penalty practice claim after another shootout loss
Armagh won the toss and opted to go first. They sent forward their best player, Rian O'Neill, to take their first penalty in the shootout against the defending champions Derry. Over 90 minutes of end-to-end action in front of 28,720 fans failed to separate the sides in St Tiernach's Park, Clones. Sunday's game had to be played to a finish and the teams spread out across the width of the pitch as the shootout unfolded. Read more: Ulster Senior Football Final: Armagh vs Derry drew average of over 240k viewers on RTÉ O'Neill had the chance to strike first for the Orchard County, but his effort was saved by Odhran Lynch. It was a huge psychological blow for Armagh, who missed two further penalties with Lynch making brilliant stops to deny Aidan Nugent and Ethan Rafferty. It was a case of deja vu for Armagh following their heartbreaking defeat to Galway in last year's All-Ireland SFC quarter-final. Speaking after Sunday's loss, Kieran McGeeney stressed that practising penalties is now part of Armagh's routine at every session. "Every session we take penalties,' stated McGeeney. 'It's a thing now. You just have to get it. Penalties are a funny thing. It's not like a skillset. 'It's a pressure thing being able to deal with that. There are so many permutations. 'In fairness to the keeper (Odhran Lynch), the three penalties that were hit were good penalties round the corner. They were good saves. They weren't bad penalties. "(Ethan Rafferty) was a goalkeeper when he was young and that's why we have him in there. 'He has done goalkeeping. He might not have the experience behind him but then we get a lot of plusses out of him during game time.' He added: 'It's tough. We played really well today, made a few mistakes and that, they played really well – thought it was a great game for the neutrals. "Intelligent game of football from both teams, a lot of good scores in the clutch, small mistakes here and there. There wasn't much between us, I suppose it would take something to separate us.' While McGeeney was understandably crestfallen after watching his charges lose on penalties, he wasn't about to use it as any sort of an excuse. Armagh have three games in Group Two against Westmeath, Tyrone and Galway to try and progress to the knockout stages of the All-Ireland Championship and McGeeney says his side must push on and learn to grind out results against the top sides. 'When you're in a condensed season everybody's gonna look for something,' added the Armagh boss. 'It's one of those things, what do you do? It's the same rules for everybody, you just have to take it on the chin. 'Even with the league this year, we got a lot of stick, Galway beat us by a last-minute goal, Kerry getting two frees at one end and us dropping the ball to win by a point. 'We were close in every game, probably should have won every game we played in. The thin margins at the very top and we have five or six teams at the top that are really quality, they all play a very similar system, 15 behind the ball, double-sweepers, break at pace and it's a tough game to break down. 'Small decisions can go your way or go against you. It's been a decent year for us but you want to push on, you want to win the big things because that's what you're remembered for. "It's tough when you lose, that's two games when you're really as good as the team you're playing, but penalties are penalties.' READ NEXT: Armagh vs Derry: Player ratings from Sunday's Ulster SFC Final Recap as Derry retain the Ulster title after a dramatic penalty shootout win over Armagh Rory Gallagher domestic abuse allegations have 'overshadowed' Ulster final - Peter Canavan Rory Gallagher 'steps back' as Derry GAA boss Who is Ciaran Meenagh? The Tyrone man in charge of Derry for the Ulster SFC Final Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox
