Cork head to Derry with the Oak Leafers finding form

This Sunday Cork face their stiffest test of the season, travelling to Celtic Park for a fifth-round NFL Division 2 clash that could very likely impact both sides' promotion ambitions.

The Rebels are one of four teams – one in each division – to have recorded a perfect record in the first four rounds of the football league, while Cork and Donegal are the only teams across both codes to have won all of their league games so far.

The Oak Leaf County have been picking up with each game, their last result the most impressive as they dismantled Offaly on a 2-25 to 0-8 scoreline. Shane McGuigan, Matthew Downey, Paul Cassidy and Niall Loughlan all managed more than five each from play in that victory.

They sit in a strong promotion position alongside Meath, their only blemish a first-round loss to the Royals. Since then they've beaten Tyrone and Kildare by three points apiece, the latter achieved with 14 men after captain Conor Glass was red-carded inside six minutes.

It is Ciarán Meenagh's first season back in charge, stepping in alongside Chrissy McKaigue to replace Paddy Tally after a torrid 2025 campaign.

The scale of the fall still stings. After winning the Division 1 league title in 2024, they would have been left feeling disappointed with their quarter-final exit to Kerry in that year’s championship, but 2025 was much, much worse.

MISERY

They went through the entire league campaign without winning a game – a draw against Galway was the only point they managed – and they exited the group stage of the All-Ireland series with the same meagre return. Just one point, again, from a draw against Galway.

Compounding that misery is the fact that Donegal hammered them out of Ulster at the first stage in the championship. No competitive wins for a full calendar year.

But injuries did play their part in that dire season. McKaigue retired before the campaign kicked off, and they lost Conor McCuskey and Gareth McKinless to long-term injuries. Niall Loughlin, who has scored 1-8 (1 tp) so far this year, missed much of last year as well.

Odhran Lynch, Lachlan Murray, Brendan Rogers and Marty Bradley were all absent at various stages. Even accounting for all of that, the managerial change was inevitable. Something had to give.

The timing of Sunday's game has a double edge for Cork. Eight points banked gives them insurance if Derry win, but it also means they arrive at Celtic Park just as the Oak Leafers are hitting their stride.

Cork's form deserves more than a footnote, though. It is not just the points accumulated; they have done that in previous seasons without ever looking truly formidable.

What differs this year is the variety in their attacking play and intent. Seán McDonnell, Steven Sherlock, Mark Cronin and Brian Hurley have all clocked two-pointers from play, giving encouragement on the orange flag front. But, the impact that Dara Sheedy has had, particularly in his first two starts, has really given Cork an extra outlet that they badly needed.

And it’s not only for his scoring – though his 0-4 haul against Meath was particularly eye-catching – but instead for the speed with which he has imposed himself at this level, and the way he has contributed to Cork's direct, incisive attacking play. He has given John Cleary’s side an additional outlet they have long lacked. Against Offaly he was phenomenal in possession.

If Cork are to get the better of Derry on Sunday, that variety up front will be their most potent weapon, and the game is certain to be a better spectacle than their last meeting, the 2023 championship defeat that ended 1-12 to 1-8 in Derry’s favour.