Coming off the back of their biggest win of the season,
Derry City travel to Sligo on Thursday to face a Bit’O’Red side who beat
Shamrock Rovers 2-0 last weekend. City’s five goal demolition of Drogheda
United saw five different scorers on the scoresheet and ensured that the
Candystripes keep the pressure on leaders Shelbourne in the race for the title.
Colm Whelan returned to the Derry squad for the first time since May 2023
following a second ACL injury in as many years, whilst Daniel Kelly netted his
first goal for the club since moving from Dundalk in the off-season.
Last time – Derry City 5-1 Drogheda United:
Derry City returned from the summer break a rejuvenated
side, sweeping their Louth opposition to the side on their way to scoring five in a League
of Ireland match for the first time September last year. It was a front-foot
performance right from the beginning as Cameron Dummigan’s drive into the top
corner from range opened the scoring in spectacular fashion after just six
minutes. The visitors equalised twenty minutes later through former Finn Harps
forward Adam Foley who, after giving the good old ear-cupping celebration to
the City fans, found himself hauling Mark Connolly to the ground in his own box
just three minutes later to give away a penalty. Red faced, the 34 year old
received a yellow card before watching Will Patching pass the ball into the
bottom corner. Life comes at you fast.
City added to the scoresheet again twelve minutes after
half-time when Dan Kelly latched onto Pat Hoban’s looping ball down the line to
lift it over Andrew Wogan and into the roof of the net to open his
account in red and white. Kelly turned provider less than ten minutes later,
pulling the ball back for Hoban who expertly finished low to put the game to
bed. Frantz Pierrot managed to get his marching orders from Rob Harvey in
between the two goals when his elbow caught Mark Connolly in the
chin, before getting more marching orders from a young fan in the Mark Farren
stand who had brought his own red card with him – fair played.
On the 77th minute mark former Ireland U21
striker Colm Whelan replaced Will Patching, who had another controlling
performance in the midfield himself, to appear in a professional game for the
first time since coming off injured against Shamrock Rovers in early May of
last year. On the eve of his 24th birthday, the forward would have
been delighted to get back on the pitch after back-to-back ACL set backs saw
him feature in just three games between May 2022 and last Friday. He played a
bit deeper than he usually did, but with the game already in the bag, it was a
perfect opportunity to get some minutes in the tank.
Two minutes from time, and just three minutes after coming
on as a sub, Ciaran Coll diverted Paul McMullan’s corner into the net to bag
his first goal in 15 months, and ensure than Derry City have scored seven more
league goals this season than any other club in the division.
Derry City:
Last Friday’s performance was a comprehensive win and a very
satisfying one for players, staff and fans alike. It feels like it was ages ago
that there was so much negativity around bad performances earlier in the
season, but coming into the European games firing on all cylinders and two
points from top, Ruaidhrí Higgins and his team have everyone back on-side again. I think it’s fair to say that, in the last month or so, we’ve seen
some of the best and most confident football of the Higgins era. Twelve goals scored and just two conceded in the last four games says it all.
Everyone to a man was brilliant last Friday, but Cameron
Dummigan has been a class above since coming back into the team as a right back
in recent weeks. That two year contract extension is looking like better
business with every passing match as the Lurgan man’s ability to carry the ball
from right back into the midfield has given Derry an extra dimension going
forward. It’s hard to oust Ronan Boyce out of that team, but Dummigan has more
than justified his inclusion recently. He’s essentially a fourth midfielder on
the pitch who just happens to be really good at full back, leaving the midfield
trio of Patching, Diallo and O’Reilly freedom to control play from the middle
of the park. Patching, in particular, seems to be reaping the rewards off that
as he’s covering more ground than ever and making smart runs from the midfield
into forward positions. Meanwhile, forward Sean Patton has joined Finn Harps on loan until the end of the campaign after being awarded with a new contract at the Brandywell.
Pat Hoban’s back out on his own as the league’s top scorer,
now with 12 goals in 21 games, Paul McMullan’s up to joint third in the assist
charts with 4 and Will Patching has maintained his 100% record from the spot
this season. It would be handy if Shelbourne could stop winning, but with 12
league games left for Derry, who sit ten points ahead of Waterford in third, it
seems like it’ll be a two-horse race right to the finish line this season. The
finish line, of course, being Derry City v Shelbourne on the last game of the
season in November. The league title will likely be lifted in the Brandywell
that night, but time will tell which of the two sides it’ll be. We’re gearing
up to have one of the best title races in years in the lead up to it, anyone
nervous yet?
Sligo Rovers:
Sitting seventh in the table, Sligo Rovers have won seven,
drawn seven and lost eight, with a two game in hand buffer keeping them clear
nine points clear of the relegation zone. After losing just one of their first
seven games, Rovers went on to lose four of their next six, undoing the good
work from the early part of the season to leave them languishing in the bottom
half. Now sitting just four points behind Shamrock Rovers in fourth place, good
business in the summer and a decent second half of the campaign could see them
on their way to a mid-table finish – a notable upgrade on last year’s eighth
placed finish.
The Bit’O’Red come into the game against Derry on Thursday a
confident side, as they defeated four-in-a-row champions Shamrock Rovers 2-0 last
weekend. A second half double from former Hoop Simon Power meant that Sligo
shook off a run of two defeats in their previous two – one coming in the form
of a 4-1 loss in Waterford. That win against Shamrock Rovers was their first in
the Showgrounds against the Tallaght side since May 2019, and has all but
excluded the champions from a race for the title this year.
Sligo keeper Ed McGinty has been their best player this year
by far, starting all 22 of their games and keeping eight clean sheets in a
defence which has let in 27 goals – the third most in the division. It was
announced on Monday that the 24 year old’s loan deal from Oxford United was
extended until the end of the season in a deal which be seen as Rovers' best business of the summer. More good news came in the form of Ollie
Denham’s loan move from Cardiff City being made permanent, whilst former Derry
City and Bohemians winger Stephen Mallon signed for Sligo after winning the
Irish Cup with Cliftonville. The 25 year old netted on his Derry City debut in
2020 and will add pace to the Sligo wings.
Rovers’ loan situation has left them with a decidedly thinner squad going into the second half of the season. Max Mata, who scored four goals
and assisted three this season, has recently joined Auckland FC on
loan from Shrewsbury Town after spending the first half of the season in
Connacht. German winger Fabrice Hartmann, who spent the past 18 months on loan
in Sligo from RB Leipzig, has rejoined the German side who finished fourth in
the Bundesliga last season. The 23 year old’s flair on the right wing has offered
something different for Mark Russell's side. He also found four goals and made four
assists this term, meaning that Sligo’s top two goal-scorers and two most
creative players this season are no longer at the club. Between the two of them
they created 15 of Sligo’s 23 goals (65.2%). They’ll now be relying heavily on
former Galway United forward Wilson Waweru and Faroese striker Stefan
Radosavljevic, who have two goals between them this term, for a bit more joy in
front of goal. Dutch forward Rein Smit has also recently returned home to the Netherlands
for personal reasons.
Round-up:
Derry City know that they really need to be winning every
game from here until November as Shelbourne’s game-in-hand means they have a
one game buffer that the Candystripes aren’t afforded. The league leaders face
Drogheda United on Thursday, with a win against the Louth team looking highly likely
when you compare the two sides’ recent form.
Sligo Rovers have been
something of a bogey side for Derry City of late. The Candystripes have beaten
Sligo just twice in the last ten league encounters between the two, with Rovers
winning three and the other five being draws. The previous two fixtures between
the two this season have been 0-0 and 2-2 draws, meaning that Derry haven’t won
in the Showgrounds since August 2021 when Joe Thomson and Ronan Boyce got on
the scoresheet.
It’s a double header against FC Bruno’s Magpies in the UEFA
Conference League for Derry City after this match against Sligo Rovers. A win
on Thursday would be the Candystripes’ fifth in a row – a perfect run of form
when coming into European and cup games. It’s the last league game for Higgins’
men until August, and a win to break the recent tough run of form against Sligo
would set City up nicely going into the business end of the season.
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