McKenna Cup round 1
Derry v Antrim, Owenbeg, Sun 2pm
DERRY commence their 2016 season this weekend when they welcome Antrim to Owenbeg for the first game in this year’s Dr. McKenna Cup.
In recent years Derry have used the county game’s traditional curtain-raiser in an effort to blow away the Christmas cobwebs while Brian McIver’s main aim this time last year was to survey new players and expand his squad. However, already working with a sizeable player panel, Damian Barton has identified the need to bring his players fitness up to speed so that the Oak leaf county can compete with the very best teams in Ulster this season.
Derry looked visibly off the pace during Barton’s first game in the managerial hot seat, coming second best to an impressively slick and well oiled Tyrone outfit. The performance of Kilrea’s Joe Morgan at the back and Ballinderry’s Ryan Bell operating around the ’45 were two positives that Derry could take from that O Fiaich Cup defeat, and with Barton fielding a very inexperienced side he’ll not have been too despondent after relinquishing that particular pre-season cup.
Opponents Antrim arrive at the county’s second ground buoyed by the return of a few key players this year. Michael McCann has returned to the Saffrons panel after a year’s break to bolster the side for their 2016 campaign. McCann joins quality operators such as Kevin Niblock and Brian Neeson to give joint managers Frank Fitzsimons and Gearoid Adams another fillip as they step up their efforts to launch a concerted bid to bring the side out of Division Four of the Allianz League
Derry last won the McKenna Cup in 2011 when they defeated Tyrone, a side they will face on Sunday week also at Owenbeg.
The Oak Leafers group fixtures are completed on Wednesday 13th January when they host Queens.
Match report and photos in County Derry Post.
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