Derry
City v. Shamrock Rovers, League of Ireland Premier Division, Round 11, Ryan
McBride Brandywell Stadium, Friday 19th April 2024, kick-off 7.45pm
Derry
City v. St Patrick’s Athletic, League of Ireland Premier Division, Round 24
(technically), Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, Monday 22nd April
2024, kick-off 7.45pm
It’s already the third Friday-Monday match weekend of the
season and they don’t come much tougher than this. After failing to put the
game to bed away to Drogheda United last week and drawing 2-2, manager Ruaidhrí
Higgins will want his players to be on top form against the champions and FAI
Cup winners this weekend.
The Candystripes weren’t poor against Drogheda by any means.
After going 1-0 down within three minutes, the City players responded well and
played some neat football before the half was out. Michael Duffy equalised for
City just before the half-hour mark, stooping highest to head a Paul McMullan
cross past South African international goalkeeper Jethren Barr. Will Patching one-upped
himself in his own goal of the month competition, firing a looping strike from
range into the top corner on the stroke of half-time. The former Manchester City midfielder will make his 100th appearance for City on Friday against Shamrock Rovers.
Derry came close to adding to their lead in the second half
as Danny Mullen’s header came off the post – a goal which would’ve surely
guaranteed the points for the travelling side. The pressure on Brian Maher’s
goal mounted as the half went on though and, five minutes from time, Haitian
forward Frantz Pierrot saw his side-footed effort go in off the post – opening his
account for Drogs. The substitutions of Daniel Kelly and Danny Mullen, two forwards,
for Shane McEleney and Ben Doherty, two defenders, prior to the late equaliser
meant that Derry lacked a bit of dynamism going forward in search of the
winner. A late free-kick towards the back post came to nothing, and City left
Weaver’s Park with just a point. They’ve one only won of their last six fixtures
on Boyneside.
Bohemians’ win over Shelbourne did mean that City didn’t concede
more ground to the Tolka table-toppers. Without a win in their last three,
Shelbourne’s early dominance may be starting to wane. Bohs beat Dundalk in
their game in hand earlier this week too, meaning that they’re now third place
and sit level on points with Derry. Shamrock Rovers’ recent resurgence after a
slow start means that they too are back in the top 4, a point behind the Candystripes
with a game in hand.
Derry haven’t beaten Rovers in the Brandywell since a 2-0 win
in the President’s Cup in early 2023, and haven’t beaten them in league action
since Jamie McGonigle’s 95th minute winner in February 2022. Similarly
to 2023, the Hoops made another slow start to the league campaign. Last year
they had to wait until the seventh game to pick up their first win, before winning
nine of their next eleven fixtures. Eventually winning the league by a margin
of seven points shows that Rovers’ slow starts should never be taken as an
indicator of how their season may go. They picked up just three points from
their first four games this term, but have won four of their last five games and
seem to be getting back into their groove.
A 3-0 win over Sligo Rovers, who had an impressive start to
the season, shows that Rovers are coming back into form. Aaron Greene bagged twice,
whilst Graham Burke – who won and scored a penalty against Derry in the 1-1 in
the Brandywell last year – opened the scoring. MK Dons loanee, and former St.
Pat’s winger, Darragh Burns joined the Hoops at the beginning of the season and
has five goal involvements in nine games this campaign, including a goal and assist
in Tallaght when Derry visited in early March. That 2-2 draw, much like the one
last week against Drogheda, was another instance when City lacked that lethal
touch and conceded late on to squander a 2-1 lead.
Rory Gaffney, who has been key to Rovers’ success in the past
few years, hasn’t played since the 15th of March. Jack Byrne is another
notable absentee – the former Republic of Ireland international hasn’t featured
since September of last year. Derry man Aaron McEneff also hasn’t played for Shamrock
Rovers since rejoining for the club on loan from Perth Glory. Neil Farrugia,
too, has played just once this season after picking up an injury on the opening
day draw to Dundalk. Despite their injury issues though, the Tallaght side have
quality all over the pitch and have a ruthless streak that has seen them
win four titles in a row. Derry City will need to be on their A-game if they’re
to get three points on Friday.
It doesn’t get any easier for City as they host St. Patrick’s
Athletic for the second time already this season on Monday. Due to European
involvement for both camps in July, this game is technically ‘Round 24’. Don’t
worry, Round 23 isn’t until the 4th of July. Inconsistent is probably
the best way to describe Pat’s’ season so far, which isn’t surprising due to
the amount of new faces that came through the door in the off-season. Out of their ten games this season, they’ve won four, lost four and drawn two – leaving
them fifth in the table but just two points behind City in second place.
Saints’ boss Jon Daly would have been disappointed after his
side played out a scoreless draw against bottom-side Dundalk last week, but 2-1
and 3-0 wins over Shamrock Rovers and Sligo Rovers show
that they’re no slouches when they get going. Former Derry City playmaker Brandon
Kavanagh has assisted four of the Inchicore side’s ten goals this season, but marquee
signing Ruairi Keating has found the net just twice this campaign. Former
Cliftonville defender Luke Turner is joint top scorer for Pat’s this term,
joint on two with the aforementioned Keating. Aside from Kavanagh’s four
assists, the other players who registered an assist for the Saints in 2024 are
defenders- Joe Redmond, Conor Keeley and Anto Breslin. Ten goals coming from eight
different scorers shows that Pat's aren’t reliant on one man – which could be a
threat to City on Monday.
Derry’s 2-1 win over St Patrick’s Athletic on the first of
March was a great show of resolve by the City players. After an eventless first half, Ruairi Keating fired past Brian Maher just minutes after
the restart to give the away side the lead. A goal from Pat Hoban on the 65th,
followed by a 92nd minute Danny Mullen winner gave the Candystripe
faithful hope for the season ahead. It hasn’t gone quite to plan so far, as
Derry remain winless on the road, but winning four out of five games at home bodes well going into the weekend ahead.
The height in the Pats backline shows that they won’t shy away
from the physical battle, whilst the return of goalkeeper Danny Rogers to the
starting eleven has added more confidence in the defence. Liverpool loanee Marcelo
Pitaluga hasn’t appeared since a 3-1 loss to Waterford in March after shipping
seven goals in his first four appearances for Daly’s side. Derry know all too
well the talents of Chris Forrester and Jake Mulraney – two players who bring a
bit of flair and unpredictability to the Pats midfield.
Ruaidhrí Higgins will have been glad to see Ben Doherty and Patrick McEleney
back in the matchday squad after injuries, whilst the sight of Sadou Diallo
and Pat Hoban training alongside Colm Whelan down in Drogheda was a welcomed
one. It’ll be a year to the day on Sunday since Whelan burst onto the Derry scene
with a winner against Cork City after a year out due to an ACL tear. The
forward, who signed from UCD, suffered a devastating reoccurrence of that ACL
injury at the start of May last year though – meaning he suffered two potential
career ending injuries in consecutive Mays. Whelan won’t be rushed into the team,
but if he’s fit by the summer he’ll be a welcomed addition as City aim to fight
on league, cup and European fronts.
It's weekends like these that shape seasons. Lose on Friday
and Monday and there mightn’t be a league title push for City this season. Win
both games and City could find themselves back on top of the pile. The Candystripes
will need to be ruthless if they are to win big ties like these, as the
loss of more points from winning positions will come back to haunt us come
November. Risk-taking is a part of the sport, and making offensive changes to
kill a game will reap rewards if they mean that Derry get into the habit of coming
away with more than a draw when the going gets tough. Friday's sold out and Monday won't be far off it, this should be a good weekend of action.
Pól O’Hare – 16 April 2024
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