Derry City FC v. Galway United FC, League of Ireland Premier Division, Round 19, Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, Friday 13th June 2025, kick-off 7.45pm
Slipping to sixth in the Premier Division after defeat away
to Bohemians two weeks ago, Derry City welcome seventh placed Galway United to
the Brandywell on Friday. Just three points off the European places, victory
for City could fire them back into the mix. Defeat, however, would see Galway
leapfrog Derry and demote the Candystripes to seventh place.
Derry City:
The 1-0 loss to Bohemians at the end of May was one of those
matches were simply nothing went right for City. After just 22 seconds, referee
Rob Hennessy had given Bohemians a penalty when Mark Connolly was adjudged to
have handballed it in the box. It was a soft call at best; the ball was fired
at pace into the mid-riff of Connolly who tried to keep his arms down. Even the
usually home-club-biased Bohemians commentators said it wasn’t a pen. Dayle
Rooney fired the resulting spot-kick into the top corner and gave the
Candystripes a mountain to climb with just two minutes played.
With the early advantage, Bohemians were on top throughout
the first half. They were winning all the second balls and pressed Derry with
energy. The away side couldn’t settle on the ball, and it showed in the number
of times that possession was lost. Danny Mullen was isolated up top and the
longballs played up to him were dealt with comfortably by Bohemians’ centre
backs. Despite Shane Ferguson being hooked for Gavin Whyte after just 25
minutes to usher in a more attacking formation, the first 45 were a tough watch
for the travelling City faithful.
Half-time saw three changes for Tiernan Lynch’s side as City
tried to get something from the game. Kevin Holt, Michael Duffy and Hayden Cann
were replaced by Ronan Boyce, Dom Thomas and Ben Doherty as the Candystripes
moulded their formation to be more direct. The extra attacking outlets did give
City more life, particularly down the flanks. The introduction of Ronan Boyce
in particular gave City a right-footed right-back for the first time since his
injury three weeks ago.
Just fifteen minutes later and City’s half-time plans went
up in smoke. Ben Doherty, who has had a stop-start 2025 through foot and
hamstring injuries, went down injured. He was replaced by Robbie Benson,
forcing Ronan Boyce to play as the left-sided wing back and Adam O’Reilly as
his counterpart on the right. To be fair to O’Reilly, whose usual game of
breaking up the play in the middle was hampered by a yellow card, his
overlapping runs from right-back gave City their best chances of the second
half.
O’Reilly played balls in for Danny Mullen which were headed
and volleyed narrowly over. His best foray saw him slide a ball across the face
of goal on the 70th minute. Robbie Benson came painfully close to
stabbing it in and saw his penalty claims waved away despite being bundled over
within the six yard box by the covering defender. That wasn’t the first big
penalty shout for Derry either – Danny Mullen was pushed to the ground by
Dawson Devoy on the 53rd minute in direct view of the referee, who
didn’t as much as shrug to acknowledge the claim. Another night when the man in
the middle took centre stage for the wrong reasons.
Despite feeling hard-done-by by the officials, City never
really looked like winning the game. Bohemians set up well, pressing Derry high
and praying on loose balls. Their defensive structure was solid and frustrated
a Derry City side who struggled to carve them open. On another night, it
could’ve been a goal-fest for the home team, who hit an exposed City on the
counter on numerous occasions across the second half. James Clarke and Colm
Whelan came within inches of finding goals of their own. Robbie Benson’s
dismissal just twenty minutes after coming on summarised a difficult night for
the Candystripes, who were on the wrong side of a card-happy referee but failed
to create anything of real quality throughout.
As a result of his red card, Robbie Benson will miss the
game against Galway United. Ben Doherty’s recent set-back may see him miss more
gametime, although Tiernan Lynch hinted at the returns of Cameron Dummigan and
Sadou Diallo in the coming weeks. Michael Duffy will hope to rekindle his
early-season form, as the Candystripes will aim for more quality in forward
areas.
With a two week break now under their belt, Derry City will
be out for victory following back-to-back defeats in the last two games of May.
Conceding at the death against Rovers, before going one down at the very start
away to Bohs, Derry’s last two games highlighted the fine margins in this
league. That translates to the league table too. Starting the Bohs game in
third, City finished it in sixth. Still only three points off the European
spots, all hope is not yet lost.
Rumours have emerged linking Dom Thomas with a return to Scotland as clubs in the Premiership and Championship have shown interest in the winger. The 29 year old has scored once and registered three assists since signing from Queens Park in January, but has failed to nail down a starting berth. With a contract running until the end of the 2026 campaign, City would demand a seemingly healthy fee for the former Spiders captain.
As transfer speculation mounts around the club; fresh legs and a lack of European football could get our
distant title hopes back on track. A win against Galway could prove vital ain
doing so.
Galway United:
Currently sitting one place and three points below Derry
City in the Premier Division table, Galway United’s 2025 season has been a
mixed bag. A very satisfying mixed bag when you look at the standings though.
From eighteen games, they’ve won six, drawn six and lost six. If that ratio
wasn’t good enough for those of us with OCD tendencies, they’ve scored as many
as they’ve conceded too – twenty one.
United’s early season form gave their faithful hope of a
prosperous campaign. Galway went unbeaten in their first seven games, albeit
winning just three of those. Since their first loss of the season in early
April, a 1-0 home defeat to Shamrock Rovers, United’s season has been marred by
inconsistency. They’ve won just three more times since that early unbeaten
streak and went on a run of four losses in a row in the first weeks of May. A
win over Cork City and draw away to Shamrock Rovers in their previous two
before the mid-season break hint that their fortunes may be back on the up.
The signing of New Zealand international striker Moses Dyer
has been central to Galway’s fortunes in 2025. His nine league goals make him
the league’s top scorer at the halfway point – clearing the next closest
(Warren Davis and Owen Elding) by two. He found his first in the maroon of
Galway away to Derry City in March, before scoring three braces against
Bohemians, Shelbourne and Drogheda United. He’s a man who knows where the back
of the net is and has showcased his ability to score a range of goals. He’ll be
key to anything United do this year.
Patrick Hickey is another player who is one of Galway’s top
performers. One of the most unique players in the league in terms of profile,
the 6 foot 6 American usually operates in the midfield, but can lead the line
in attack or use his height and stature to solidify the defence. He has started
all eighteen of Galway’s game this year, chipping in with four goals and an
assist – already matching his goal tally of last season.
Galway United have an experienced, hard-working squad. With
the likes of former Ireland international Greg Cunningham featuring in a
defence alongside once Derry City target Rob Slevin, Bohs loanee Cian Byrne and
flying fullback Jeannot Esua, they’re hard to break down and rapid on the
counter.
Wales U21 goalie Evan Watts has rotated with veteran Brendan
Clarke between the sticks, whilst John Caulfield brought quality off the bench
against Shamrock Rovers last time out in the form of Bobby Burns, Conor
McCormack, Killian Brouder and Stephen Walsh. If they manage to turn some of
those draws and losses into victories in the second half of the season, I
wouldn’t be shocked to see Galway finish the season in the mix for Europe. They’ll
want to come back from the mid-season break with a first win of the season
against Derry City.
Round-up:
It’s hard to predict which way a Derry v Galway game will
go. The two counties faced each other in an entertaining draw in the Senior
Championship in Celtic Park two weeks ago, and you get the feeling that a
high-scoring draw could transcend football and Gaelic in the Brandywell on
Friday. Of the last ten meetings between City and United in all competitions,
Derry have won three, Galway four and the other three have been stalemates.
The Candystripes are unbeaten against Galway in 2025,
drawing 1-1 in March and digging deep to win 3-2 in the torrential rain at
Eamonn Deacy Park on Good Friday in April. That win in April was Derry’s first
victory in Galway since August 2015. With seven goals scored by seven different
scorers in this meeting already this year, we could be in for another
goal-filled occasion.
As both sides aim to bounce back into the top half of the
table, and use their competitors’ European escapades to their advantage, this
is a match which could prove crucial in deciding the Euro spots for 2026. I
don’t know why, but Galway strike me as a team which could go far in the cup
this year too. Recent results aside, you can’t beat summer football with a big
stick, so ye can’t.
Pól O’Hare – 10th June 2025
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