By Michael Wilson

Copyright derryjournal

Carrick finished second in Q2 last season and won the promotion / relegation play-off against then Championship One side, Grosvenor, only to miss out on moving up due to Omagh’s relegation from the All Ireland League. Indeed they’ve started this campaign like a side anxious to make up for that lost ground with two league victories from two against Academy (10-6) and Grosvenor (38-17) before suffering a first defeat of the season to Ards in last week’s Junior Shield tie. By contrast, Derry started with league defeats against Ards and Limavady before scoring a first victory for 13 months in their Junior Shield match against Monaghan and Beddow is expecting another stern examination this weekend. “When I look at Carrick’s results and, listen, they’ve had two wins in the league against Grosvenor – who obviously came down with City of Derry last year – and Academy in a game that was a lot closer than I actually anticipated it would be. “Last week they suffered their first defeat against Ards who we have already played and we found them a very difficult proposition too. Ards beat them 16-0 in the Junior Shield at Carrick so that would give us a little confidence. “Carrick will be aiming for the title this season after being promoted last season before having to stay down due to Omagh’s relegation. I’d say they are a bit disappointed Ards have come so strongly this season and maybe their rise up through the leagues is now not as guaranteed as they’d have maybe hoped. “But look, we know they’re a strong team. When I first came into the club and had discussions about coming back, I did say Q2 is big men up front and if you have a back line that can work off that, then you will do well within the league and I think I’ve been proven right by the teams we’ve met so far. Limavady were big up front, Ards were big up front and Monaghan were big up front and I expect Carrick to be exactly the same.” Derry are hoping to have Cathal Cregan back in contention for the front row where David McMahon, who joined from Suttonians in the summer, also comes into contention. Nathan Campbell is back as well but those gains are offset by the loss of Mark Scott, Muiris Bartley, who broke his collarbone against Mongahan, and Tom Cameron. Despite the changes, Beddow was encouraged by parts of last week’s performance which provided evidence of a growing understanding among his revamped squad. “Some partnerships are starting to come together,” added the Derry coach, “The lads are starting to play more with regards to their combinations and it’s giving me plenty to think about. “For example, Mark Scott has been outstanding for us in the first couple of games. Mark was available for us last Saturday but we knew in advance he wasn’t going to be available this weekend so I had to look at a combination for last Saturday to build into this Saturday meaning Mark missed out against Monaghan even though he’s probably been our best player. “I have to look ahead to when people are available and given them a game in advance if possible to get used to each other. “Myself and Tom (Burns) take great pride in the fact that now we have good numbers out. We’ve 30 training most nights and still have 10 or 15 not training on any given night for a variety of reasons like work etc. “We have a squad of 40 or 45 to be picked from which is great when you consider where the club has been in terms of numbers.” And with that crucial first victory under his belt as Derry coach, Beddow is keen to see his players build on it this weekend. “Yeah it’s always important to build on a good results but I said at the start of the season that our first four games are very difficult and we will see where we are at at the end of those games. Then I’ll understand where we are at in terms of our season and what what we have got to do. “Listen, anything we get out of Saturday will be a bonus. It will be difficult. This is Carrick’s first away game so it’s up to us to make it as hostile and difficult for them as we possibly can but if we play the rugby we did in certain spells last week, then I believe we have every opportunity to pick up the victory. We just need to do it on a more regular basis than we did last Saturday.”