Wednesday, June 25, 2025

Derry City v Drogheda United: Match Preview (June 2025)

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

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