Derry City v Sligo Rovers: Match Preview

 

Derry City v Sligo Rovers: Match Preview

Derry City FC v. Sligo Rovers FC, League of Ireland Premier Division, Round 17, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, Friday 24^th May 2024, kick-off 7.45pm

 

It was another rollercoaster weekend for Derry City who spoiled Stephen Kenny’s welcoming party at St. Patrick’s Athletic with a 1-0 victory in Inchicore on Friday night. With all eyes on Richmond Park, who welcomed its largest crowd of the campaign, the former Republic of Ireland manager’s homecoming didn’t go quite to plan as Paul McMullan cooly slid the ball under Danny Rogers late in the second half. That result, coupled with Shamrock Rovers’ defeat away to Dundalk, meant that City had the opportunity to put an eight point gap between themselves and the Tallaght side with a win on Monday night.

 

Early pressure from the champions resulted in Adam O’Reilly clearing the ball from the line after just two minutes. Just four minutes later, Johnny Kenny pounced on Graham Burke’s rebounded shot to find the bottom corner and put Rovers ahead. It could’ve gotten worse for City, who needed Brian Maher to save a Burke penalty to stop the Hoops’ advantage doubling. In truth, Derry didn’t threaten Rovers on Monday night, as Leon Pohls was a spectator for most of precedings. Stephen Bradley’s side could have had four of five on the night, and it was one of those ones that Ruaidhrí Higgins will be hoping to move on from soon.

 

Shelbourne’s 96^th minute winner of St. Pat’s on Monday evening means that Damien Duff’s men now see themselves four points clear at the top. Shels play Shamrock Rovers on Friday night, who are now just two points behind Derry and six from the summit. At the halfway point of the season, the Candystripes haven’t beaten any of the current top four. They’ve drawn twice against Shelbourne, lost one and drawn one against Galway whilst losing two and drawing once against Shamrock Rovers. That’s four points from a possible twenty one. It’s a worrying statistic for Ruaidhrí Higgins, but it shows that City need to gain a bit of cutting edge against their fellow title and European challengers.

 

In saying that, being four points from top spot eighteen games in isn’t a bad return. Three of Derry’s next four matches are at home, and with just two losses in the Brandywell this season, the Candystripes will be searching for maximum points from those fixtures. Pat Hoban was a miss on Monday night as it being evident that City lacked a focal point in attack. The return of Cameron Dummigan to the starting eleven, for the first time since late February, was certainly a boost though. Patrick McEleney played all of the second half, whilst Sadou Diallo appeared from the bench to gain more match fitness after suffering a knee injury in preseason. The former Manchester City midfielder performed particularly well on Friday and Monday, especially considering the nature and length of his injury.

 

Sligo Rovers started the campaign well, losing two just two of their first eight games and recording an impressive 5-0 away win against Dundalk in early March. Since beating Waterford 1-0 nearly two months ago though, Sligo have lost five of their last nine matches, winning just once and drawing the other three. Injuries to key players have hit the Bit’O’Red squad hard and the departure of striker Max Mata, who scored four and assisted three this campaign, will be a big loss for John Russell’s side. Centre backs John Mahon and Nando Pijnaker are out long-term with Achilles and rib injuries, whilst former Derry winger Will Fitzgerald will miss out, alongside Simon Power.

 

Fabrice Hartmann is a standout player on the wing. The RB Leipzig loanee has five goal involvements this term from the right flank. Midfielder Ellis Chapman, who scored four against Derry City in pre-season, leads the Rovers’ scoring charts with four, alongside the aforementioned Max Mata. Only six players have scored for Sligo this term, just three of whom have bagged more than one. Their injury issues and loss of Mata have been hurting them at the top of the end of the pitch. In Sligo’s last game, a 3-0 home defeat against Bohemians, they maintained 62% of possession and got away six shots. The visitors, in comparison, had just three more shots and two more on target, but managed to find the net three times. Rovers only had 7 touches in their oppositions penalty box, compared to the 16 of Bohs. John Russell’s men have no problem holding onto the ball, but seem to be really lacking some clinicality up front. (Apparently clinicality isn’t a word but it works here).

 

Sitting in eighth place, just three points clear of the relegation zone, and despite scoring just three in their last nine games whilst conceding fourteen, Sligo Rovers have been something of a bogey team in recent times. Last season, when City needed a win to keep their title hopes alive, and on a night when Shamrock Rovers dropped points to UCD, Higgins’ men travelled to Sligo. Derry had Ronan Boyce sent off and were denied a clear penalty when Cian Kavanagh was felled by goalkeeper Richard Brush, Stefan Radosavljevic scored six minutes from time to clinch the points for the home side. Will Fitzgerald scored after just three minutes last May in the Showgrounds as Derry fell to defeat in Sligo, but Will Patching’s 95^th minute winner in the Brandywell in July avenged that earlier defeat. The two sides have met once this season, back in February when an uneventful 0-0 draw was played out. Derry lost Patrick McEleney and Cameron Dummigan to injury in the first half that night - neither of whom have returned to full fitness.

 

A 5-4 win in pre-season shows that this game can produce goals, and Sligo haven’t beaten Derry in the Brandywell since July 2020, but Rovers haven’t scored more than once in a match since the 16^th of March and Derry haven’t since the end of April. The City boss will hope that his side regain some confidence and put in a big performance on Friday as the Candystripes aim to return to winning ways.

Pól O'Hare - 22nd May 2024