Galway United v Derry City &
Derry City v Shelbourne: Double Match Preview
Galway United FC v. Derry City FC., League of Ireland
Premier Division, Round 13, Eamonn Deacy Park, Friday 3rd May 2024,
kick-off 7.45pm
Derry City FC v. Shelbourne FC, League of Ireland
Premier Division Round 14, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, Monday 6th
May 2024, kick-off 7.45pm
The Friday-Monday gameweeks are coming thick and fast for
Derry City, who picked up their first away win of the season against Waterford
last weekend. A first away win since the 27th of October and their
first win in the RSC since May 2021 – it seems like momentum is finally of the
Candystripes’ side. Ruaidhrí Higgins’ men find themselves third in the table
after going second on Friday, before being leapfrogged by Shamrock Rovers who beat Drogheda
United 4-0 in their game in hand on Monday evening. Just a point behind Rovers
and three behind Shelbourne, who at a stage found themselves nine points in the
clear - a big weekend could catapult City into top spot should other results
go their way.
Derry were in control down in Waterford. Aside from a few
half-chances for the home side, and a Pádraig Almond shot which rattled the
crossbar at 2-0, City looked comfortable and confident. Will Patching got his
just reward after another standout performance in the midfield, cooly slotting
a penalty past Sam Sargent to open the scoring. Pat Hoban showed his prowess
too, holding the ball up well and being placed in the right place at the right
time to convert Dan Kelly’s parried effort. Speaking of Kelly, the winger
came off the bench to replace the injured Ben Doherty in the first half and produced his best performance in a Derry shirt by far. Involved in both goals,
it was Kelly’s darting run in behind the defence which led to the 27 year old
being felled in the box – a foul which resulted in Patching’s penalty. His
direct runs troubled Waterford left-back Robbie McCourt all evening, and it was
from this that City found their second. A nutmeg on the half-turn from Kelly caused
chaos in the home-side’s box, resulting in Pat Hoban scoring from point-blank
range to seal the three points. Mark Connolly was solid as per, whilst Adam O’Reilly
and Paul McMullan displayed their fitness levels and energy throughout. It was a solid night of football
from Higgins’ men.
There’s no good news on the injury front however. Ben
Doherty, who only just returned from a knock, was substituted in the first
half. Michael Duffy, brought off injured against Shamrock Rovers, was only fit
enough for the bench in the last two fixtures and didn’t seem to be entirely
comfortable down in the RSC as he was seen feeling his left knee after being
introduced in the second half. Sadou Diallo and Cameron Dummigan are reportedly
nearing returns though, two men who will be raring to get their seasons
kickstarted.
Galway United handed Derry City
their first home-loss of the season when a late goal on the break saw them claim
their first league win in the Brandywell since May 2015. Promoted from the
First Division with thirty wins last season, a tally which saw them win the
league by a whopping 25 points, Galway came back into the Premier Division
after a six year hiatus as something of an unknown quantity. Unable to return
to the top flight since being relegated in 2017, manager John Caulfield saw
more value in holding on to his First Division winners than splash the cash on
a raft of new signings. League of Ireland stalwarts Conor McCormack, Brendan
Clarke and Regan Donelon were re-signed, alongside David Hurley and Wassim
Aoucharia, to name a few. The latter two contributed to 39 of Galway’s 98 goals last
term.
The Tribesmen haven’t made a bad start to life back in the
Premier Division by any means. They find themselves fifth, right in the middle
of the table with 16 points after 12 games. They have a strangely satisfying
share of four wins, four draws and four losses from those twelve, scoring seven
and conceding seven along the way. Five points off the relegation zone is where
they want to be, but a six point gap to Derry in third shows how competitive the league is this year, and that a bit of
goalscoring form may get them closer to the European spots. United’s goal
record shows two things. Firstly, with seven scored, they’re the second lowest
scoring team in the league behind only bottom-placed Dundalk who have six – a
surprisingly low tally for a team that bagged nearly 100 last year. A certain
Galwegian by the name of Pat Hoban already has two more than that himself. On
the flip side, their seven goals conceded is the best defensive record in the
league, two clear of Shelbourne and four clear of Shamrock Rovers. For
reference, Derry City have scored 22 and conceded 14. Galway will be without manager John Caulfield on Friday, and for two games thereafter, as a result of "disciplinary regulation breaches". Defender Rob Slevin will also miss the game through suspension.
The May-day bank holiday fixture against Shelbourne could
turn out to be quite a crucial match come the business end of the season. Shels
flew out of the blocks, winning six of their first nine games and drawing the
other three. In saying that, Damien Duff’s men have won just one of their last
six since drawing 0-0 with the Candystripes in Tolka back on Easter Monday. One
of those losses came away to Galway United, a result which Ruaidhrí Higgins
will have his team well warned about. Aside from that recent slump, it can’t be
understated that Shelbourne have lost just twice all season and do deserve to
be at the top of the table. Will Jarvis has been the stand-out performer,
netting five goals this term on loan from Hull City. Former Finn Harps men Sean
Boyd and Mark Coyle have contributed to four and three goals respectively too. It’s
defensively where Shelbourne are strongest though. They kept a clean sheet
despite an onslaught of Derry City pressure in the first half in Tolka back in
early April. The experience of Sean Gannon and Paddy Barrett compliment the
energy of Gavin Molloy in the backline, leading Shelbourne to keep the second
best defensive record behind the Candystripes last term. Liam Burt, on loan
from Shamrock Rovers, has started brightly at Shelbourne and adds quality on
the wings. Former Derry City forward Matt Smith also assisted John Martin’s
winner against St. Patrick’s Athletic last time out.
Derry City haven’t travelled to Eamonn Deacy Park since
September 2017, when Rory Patterson got on the scoresheet as City fell to a 2-1
defeat. Galway captain Conor McCormack got sent off as a Derry City player in a
scoreless draw against Galway in June 2016, whilst the Candystripes have to look back to
August 2015 to find their last win away against the Tribesmen. Mark Timlin bagged a
brace that day, whilst Stephen Dooley and Ciaran O’Connor found the others. City
did have a six year unbeaten spell in Galway, beginning with a 4-1 win in April
2011 and ending with a 2-0 League Cup defeat in April 2017.
Despite not beating
Shelbourne in the Brandywell since October 2020, City have lost just once to
the Reds in their last nine meetings on Foyleside. The aforementioned Conor
McCormack started that game in 2020, whilst Ciarán Coll, Cameron McJannet,
Ciaron Harkin and Ronan Boyce are the only players from that squad who still
find themselves at the Brandywell. Five of the last six league outings between Shelbourne and Derry City ended in draws, threw 0-0s and two 1-1s. Even if there are goals, there will be very little to seperate the sides on the night.
It's another big weekend of football in the Premier
Division, with just three points separating the top three and six up for grabs
between Friday and Monday, this weekend could be vital in determining the
eventual champions. Shelbourne face 10th placed Dundalk in Oriel
Park on Friday, a team who beat Bohemians last week to earn their first win of
the season. Shamrock Rovers face Bohs in the Dublin Derby, whilst a win for
Drogheda away to St. Pat’s could lift them out of the relegation zone. Two
games in four days is always a tough ask, and Derry haven’t won both games in a
Friday-Monday match weekend since May last year, when 1-0 and 3-0 wins over
Bohemians and Dundalk saw Derry on their way to winning four games in a row. Should
the Candystripes win both games this weekend, it’ll be the first time they’ve
won four consecutive fixtures since that spell last year. Much to think about…
Pól O’Hare – 1 May 2024
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