Derry City FC v Drogheda United FC, League of Ireland Premier Division Round 22, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, Friday 27th June 2025, kick-off 7.45pm
The race for Europe is hotting up in the Premier Division, as
Derry City’s consecutive away wins leaves them just a point off third and two off
second. Friday’s clash, a home tie with third-placed Drogheda United, could
prove vital come the end of the season. With back-to-back home games on the horizon
and transfer movement hotting up, Tiernan Lynch will hope his side continue
their winning streak.
Derry City:
Derry City kicked off their Friday-Monday doubleheader with
a trip to Shelbourne on Friday, hoping for a positive start to a tricky looking
duo of matches. On the hottest day of the year, the Candystripes ramped up the
heat and claimed victory in Tolka Park for the first time since March 2023. It
was a result which brought about Damien Duff’s departure of the club as, by
Sunday afternoon, news broke that Shelbourne’s league winning manager had
resigned.
Friday’s game was a relatively flat affair. Throughout the
first half, it seemed like both sides were sussing each other out and didn’t
want to play too many risky passes. Liam Boyce came closest for the travelling
side, dinking one over Conor Kearns which went narrowly wide from a 1v1
situation just a minute after seeing an audacious chip from the centre circle
land on the roof of the net. Brian Maher brilliantly denied John Martin from
point blank range to keep the scores level going into the break.
Derry started the brightest going into the second half, with
Gavin Whyte firing a low effort at Conor Kearns just two minutes in. A long
ball forward to Sean Boyd saw Brian Maher race out of his box on the 53rd
minute. City’s keeper failed to clear the ball and Sam Todd came to the rescue
when he nodded Evan Caffrey’s effort off the line.
The clearance from Todd soon proved to be as good as a goal.
City took the ball straight up the other end and, when Carl Winchester slid
Michael Duffy through, there was only going to be one outcome. City’s mercurial
number seven did a few stepovers to evade his man before firing into the top
corner from distance on his left foot. Another wondergoal to add to the Michael
Duffy collection, as City took a deserved lead. I’ve watched it back more times
than I’d like to admit.
Shels failed to threaten for the remainder of the game and,
despite a scare when Brian Maher was left stranded outside his box before Mipo
Odubeko was ruled offside, City saw the game out comfortably. It was an
immensely satisfying victory for the Candystripes, whose passing was crisp and
defending resolute. Duffy’s seventh of the campaign was an absolute peach and
worthy of beating the champions on their own patch. All eyes then turned to
Monday night.
Said eyes donning Derry City tinted glasses weren’t left
disappointed on Monday night either. After failing to win in Dublin all season,
City beat St Pat’s 1-0 to register their second victory in the capital in four
days. In a weekend where I predicted two draws, Derry picked up six precious
points to close the gap to the European places to just one point. With Bohs
beating Shamrock Rovers on Monday night, the most optimistic of City fan may
glance at those two games in hand and start dreaming.
If you thought Friday wasn’t the prettiest of viewing, you’d
have had another thing coming on Monday. For the first 25 minutes or so, Pat’s
were energetic and had City penned in. They went out with a point to prove and
came close on multiple occasions. Brandon Kavanagh saw a freekick bounce
narrowly past the far post in the closest opportunity of the half for the home
side. Simon Power and Zack Elbouzedi’s pace on the flanks caused trouble for
City, but a lack of a finishing touch saved the Candystripes.
Derry’s goal came on the stroke of the half hour mark. Carl
Winchester broke from deep in midfield and played a sweeping pass towards the
right flank. Ronan Boyce received it following a dummy from Gavin Whyte and
fired an inch perfect ball across the face of goal where Liam Boyce was on hand
to nod in his fifth goal for the club. It was a case of The Boyce in the Better
Land, and not for the first time this season.
City clung on and dug deep, playing a dirty game when
necessary and running their socks off to grind out the win across the next hour
of football. It was a statement win against a side who were desperate to escape
a bad run of form. The yellow cards were flashed, nine in total, and the
tackles were hard. It certainly wasn’t beautiful but, just like against
Shelbourne days prior, it was bloody satisfying.
The return of Sadou Diallo from injury was a massive boost
to City in the last two games. His calm nature in the centre of the park,
combined with a fine range of passing, added that extra bit of quality from
deep in the midfield. You wouldn’t have known he hadn’t played since March if
you watched the games against Pats and Shels. Without O’Reilly on Friday, and
with O’Reilly slotting in at full back off the bench on Monday, Winchester and
Diallo quickly formed a partnership in the middle. With Cameron Dummigan
training ahead of the game on Monday, and the arrival of Adam Frizzell from
Airdrieonians announced on Wednesday, Tiernan Lynch’s midfield is stepping up
to another level.
The wide areas have since lost a man, though, as Dom Thomas’
six month spell at the Brandywell has come to an end with the announcement of
his signing by Ayr United in the Scottish Championship. Harland & Wolff
Welders have announced the permanent signing of Liam Mullan, meanwhile Paul
McMullan is rumoured to be of interest to Raith Rovers. City also had an approach
for the league’s top scorer Moses Dyer declined by the player after triggering
his release clause on Wednesday. Finally, there has been interest in Burton
Albion defender Alex Bannon, who spent last season on loan at Airdrieonians,
whilst Tiernan Lynch remained tight-lipped on the future of Pat Hoban.
Derry’s back-line was solid across the last two games. Sam
Todd and Hayden Cann were pretty much faultless, whilst Mark Connolly’s once
trademark switches to the wingers made a comeback at stretched the play. Kevin
Holt’s experience also showed in aiding the team across the line. Brian Maher
made some big saves on Monday in particular, whilst Michael Duffy showed why
he’s arguably the best winger in the league once again. The losses of Ronan
Boyce and Mark Connolly to potential injuries, alongside more suspensions, don’t
make for good viewing going into Friday however.
Now up to fourth, a point behind Friday’s opponents and two
behind Bohemians in second, it seems like City’s season is being reignited.
Unbeaten in three, that never-say-die identity is returning to the
Candystripes’ arsenal, even when the technical performances haven’t been
fantastic. With back-to-back home games fast approaching, Tiernan Lynch will
hope his side build on this streak going deeper into the summer. It’s a game approaching
must win territory if City want to mount a serious charge.
Drogheda United:
Top of the table after twelve games and with European
football in the horizon, the summer of 2025 promised to be a memorable one for
fans of Drogheda United. The past few weeks, however, have seen those promises
broken as UEFA kicked the Louth side out of the UEFA Conference League.
Drogheda United is part of the Trivela Group, who also own
Trivela Togo, Walsall Town and Silkeborg IF. The latter, Silkeborg, recently
beat Randers in the Danish European play-offs, booking their spot in the
Conference League. To cut a long story short, and despite the Red Bull clubs
and City Group finding loopholes, UEFA and the Court for Arbitration of Sport
upheld the rule that two clubs with the same owner couldn’t compete in European
competition. It’s the first time in history that that rule has seen a team
expelled, and it’s Drogheda United, lower ranked than their Danish
counterparts, who have been dealt the unlucky blow.
It's not only devastating for Drogheda’s players, staff and
fans, but the club turned full-time this season – no doubt looking at the cash
injection they’d receive from their European qualification. No other Irish side
applied for a UEFA Licence to take their spot, so Shamrock Rovers have been
bumped into Round Two. Kevin Doherty certainly has a task on his hands to keep
his disappointed squad motivated on domestic action for the remainder of the season.
Top of the pile until May, the Cup winners had a flying
start to the league campaign. Losing just once in their first eleven games, looking
good value to run the likes of Shamrock Rovers tight at the top of the table.
Since beating Derry City 3-1 in the Brandywell in early April, they’ve won just
three of the following fourteen games. Drawing eight of those isn’t bad going,
and kept Drogheda in and around the top three, but those dropped points meant
that Shamrock Rovers could open a ten point gap over Drogs going into this
gameweek. Kevin Doherty will now hope that the lack of European fixture
congestion can aid his side in staying in the upper reaches of the table going
into the business end of the campaign, but his name will be the first on the
lips of many a Shelbourne fan on their list when discussing Damien Duff
replacements.
Twenty year old forward Warren Davis has been Drogheda
United’s talisman this year, stepping up following the departure of Frantz
Pierrot and injuries to Douglas James-Taylor. A graduate of Drogheda’s academy,
Davis has scored seven and assisted twice in twenty three games this term. That
form has attracted interest from Italian and English clubs, as United slap a
€100,000 price tag on his head. A versatile forward, he’s hot property at the
moment.
Key to Drogheda’s form in the early part of the season is
their defence. Their 22 goals conceded is the joint second best in the league,
whilst 6’7” centre back Conor Keeley has come into his own after leaving St.
Pat’s. His lowest match rating on SofaScore this year is 7.0, making him one of
the league’s most consistent central defenders. With five goals, two of which
came in the aforementioned 3-1 win over Derry, he knows where the net is too.
Goalkeeper Luke Dennison has kept ten clean sheets in 22
matches, putting him top of the clean sheets pile for the league. Shane Farrell
is another player who goes under the radar in the centre of the park. The
former Shelbourne man is a tireless worker in midfield and with four assists,
has provided more goals for his teammates than anyone else in the side. He
scored a peach of a free-kick in Cork on Monday too. Darragh Markey has already
tripled his goal tally from last year, scoring three, as Drogheda’s main
attacking midfielder. With Douglas James-Taylor returning to fitness, and
scoring last week, coupled with Thomas Oluwa as an option off the bench,
Drogheda have quality throughout their ranks.
With just one win from their last five, Kevin Doherty will
hope his Drogheda side have the character to put the European-related
frustration into their performances and maintain their fight for Europe in the
second half of the season. With a comfortable win in the Brandywell already
under the belt, they’ll be aiming to at least avoid defeat in the last game
before the transfer window opens. For Doherty, he may be on a European hotseat
with Shelbourne in July if the bookies are to be trusted.
Round-up:
The Candystripes are winless in the last four competitive
games against Drogheda United, most recently drawing in May after losing all
three of the previous encounters between the two. Those losses were humiliating
for City; a capitulation in the Brandywell, a cup final defeat and a sucker
punch which all but cost Derry their title hopes last year. The performance
before Liam Boyce’s red card in the Brandywell back in April was one of City’s
best of the season, which could bring some confidence on Friday. With momentum
returning to the Candystripes, they would leapfrog their opponents with victory
in the Brandywell on Friday and could go into second, providing Bohemians lose
to Sligo Rovers.
With just one defeat in their last eight matches, Drogheda
United will certainly be a tough opponent. They’ll make Derry City work to break
them down. Winning last Friday after holding onto an early lead, before
dropping points on Monday by conceding a 95th minute equaliser away
to Cork City, United will be hungry to get another win over Derry City and
re-open their buffer in the European places. With 24 goals in the last seven
games between City and United, going back to the opening day of the 2024
season, we’re almost certainly guaranteed goals on Friday. There’s a big game
feel about this one and it could be vital to determining the European places
come November.
Pól O’Hare – 24th June 2025