Derry City 1
Shelbourne 1
FOR FORTY TANTALISING minutes, Derry City could see themselves on top of the league.
For 90 minutes, they played like a team that belonged in such a lofty position, pouring themselves into a Shelbourne team that were clinging on by their fingernails, yet somehow survived to inflict a brutal equaliser through Sean Boyd as the clock ticked into 90 minutes.
Did they deserve it? Hardly. But as William Munny once said, deserves got nuthin’ to do with it.
With Waterford shocking Shamrock Rovers and Galway United leapfrogging Bohemians earlier in the day, the pressure around the Brandywell could be felt by an anxious home crowd.
Derry had avoided defeat in this fixture the previous nine times, not being beaten by Shels since another Monday night in August 2022. A win here would send out a signal about their title ambitions.
By half time, the nervous anticipation had grown into a sickness. The hunger around these parts for a league goes beyond the entitlement of most clubs with the investment of club chairman Philip O’Doherty.
Manager Ruaidhrí Higgins picked a team with pace and a left flank of Ciaran Coll, Ben Doherty and Paul McMullan was designed to go after Sean Gannon and Patrick Barrett down the Shels’ right flank. The intention to play fast ball was signalled by the power washer on the field, soaking the pitch in a mist to add a bit of zip.
The very first chance fell to Liam Burt for the visitors, a rising effort well wide of the target.
And from there, Shelbourne struggled to get a proper foothold. It wasn’t until the last minute of the first half until they got their first corner, coming about after John Martin pressured Coll into deflecting it out.
In the meantine, the Candy Stripers were feeding Will Patching for the former Manchester City trainee to ping the 40 yards passes, opening up the play and being more expansive than of late.
A move involving captain Cameron McJannet and Ben Doherty down the left brought Pat Hoban into play and though his lifted ball to Doherty was clever, Shels ‘keeper Conor Kearns was on the scene first.
On twenty minutes the first big chance arrived. Patching had worked a short corner with Ronan Boyce and when the delivery was only half-cleared, Paul McMullan caught a sweet volley from the edge of the box that smacked the post.
As if that was their cue, the home team began pressing more aggressively and higher, with Kearns actually cannoning a clearance into McMullan as he chased down a backpass.
Half chances here and there came, the strongest being a Hoban header bouncing wide, but Shelbourne were delighted to get to the break with their clean sheet intact. Some clever clock-management getting them to the interval.
Ten minutes into the second half, the dam burst. A sustained period of high pressure had Shels looking ragged at the back and another couple of minutes of clever pressing left with an untidy ball landing to McMullan.
His shot wasn’t the cleanest of the night, but the direction was perfect and it found the side of the net to put Derry 1-0 up.
Another bout of chasing by the industrious McMullan left Kearns booting a hoofed clearance onto the roof of the stand to huge cheers. A half chance for Hoban followed.
Another chase, led by McMullan. A chance for Adam O’Reilly, the follow-up for Hoban. All little dents on the paintwork, but not enough to stop Shelbourne remaining roadworthy.
Against the flow, Burt had another effort at goal that he never got hold of and that prompted the ironic cheers.
Belatedly, Shelbourne applied some energy and pressure from twenty minutes out. Crucially, Damien Duff made his substitutions early and in Sean Boyd, they had a focal point of their attack. They would only need him once.
By contrast, despite playing a blue-collar game of chasing and honesty, Derry only made one sub in normal time.
Will Jarvis had been getting his foot on the ball and looking smart down the left side. On 90 minutes, he wriggled into space and got off a cross. Boyd was there to get the vital touch to the net.
Utter deflation and dejection in the Brandywell. No more chances. Shelbourne remain top of the league. The character to come here and snatch this draw took reserves of heart and mental resilience.
Derry City: Brian Maher; Ronan Boyce, Mark Connolly, Cameron McJannet ©, Ciaran Coll; Adam O’Reilly, Will Patching (Danny Mullen, 92), Daniel Kelly (Sadou Diallo, 78), Paul McMullen, Ben Doherty, Pat Hoban
Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Sean Gannon (Shane Farrell, 75), Patrick Barrett, Gavin Molloy, Kameron Ledwidge (Tyreke Wilson, 65); Liam Burt, Jonathan Lunney, Mark Coyle (Dean Williams, 77), John O’Sullivan (Sean Boyd, 65), Will Jarvis, John Martin (Matthew Smith, HT)
Referee: Paul McLaughlin
