Ryan Brolly

The SSE Airtricity League season is drawing to a close as it wraps up for its winter break. The title has gone back to Tallaght once again with Shamrock Rovers extending their record number of title wins to 20. It wasn’t as dominant a display as it could have been however, with the presence of Derry City, who mounted a valiant title challenge against the Hoops that threatened to deliver the title to the Brandywell for the first time since 1996/97.

Under the tenure of Ruaidhrí Higgins, Derry City have become a force in the League of Ireland with astute recruitment. They brought in the likes Jamie McGonigle from NIFL side Crusaders, and the former Northern Ireland U21 international, was the club’s top scorer with 11 goals.

They also brought back former players in Will Patching, who contributed greatly to the success this season making 16 goals and Michael Duffy, who lifted the PFAI Player of the Year award in 2018. Both arrived from Dundalk, who have featured in the Europa League group stage as recently as the 2020-21 season, showing the pulling power of the Brandywell club.

Alongside this they brought in Republic of Ireland under 21 international Brian Maher from Bray Wanderers who proved to be a fantastic addition as Derry reduced the number of goals conceded from 42 in 2021 to 25 this season.

The Candystripes began their season in stellar form going unbeaten in their first nine games, drawing only the one game in that time before their loss to Shelbourne in April ended their good run. The defining month of their season, however, was May where Higgins’ men went winless in seven games losing to Shamrock Rovers in that time. Their misery was compounded by the fact that Stephen Bradley’s side won six from seven in the same time frame to pull away from the chasing pack.

In July as UEFA competition began, Derry entered at the first qualifying round of the Europa Conference League where they faced defeats to Latvian outfits Riga FC in both legs ending their journey early.

Derry City have once again qualified for Europe and could still end the season with silverware.

Shamrock Rovers fared a lot better and managed to qualify for the group stages of the same competition offering Derry a chance to capitalise on Rovers’ more congested schedule as they attempted to juggle domestic and European ties.

However, Shamrock Rovers form did not dip aside from a loss to Dublin Derby rivals Bohemians and draws to promoted Drogheda and Shelbourne. They managed to remain consistent picking up the wins necessary to wrap up the title before their final encounter with Derry City on the penultimate matchday of the league season, which could have proved to be a massive game if they didn’t remain so relentless as they fought on two fronts.

Even though Derry’s chance to lift the league trophy has gone, their hopes of silverware have not vanished as they prepare for an FAI Cup final against Shelbourne in the Aviva Stadium on Sunday November 13. They have enjoyed an impressive cup run to date, as they picked apart title rivals Shamrock Rovers in the quarter final with a 3-1 victory, the highlight of their tournament so far. This will only be eclipsed by adding a 6th FAI cup to their trophy cabinet in the coming weeks.

Overall, Derry City fans can look back on this season with many positives. They vastly improved their goal difference and league position from last year, pushing Shamrock Rovers a lot harder than anyone has done in recent years. They also may yet finish the campaign with silverware alongside European qualification, which surely will have been the remit at the start of the season.

With the investment from billionaire Phillip O’Doherty, the club’s facilities, coaching and playing staff should continue to improve. These factors alongside the fact that Ruaidhrí Higgins remains at the helm given he has shown he has what it takes to compete with top sides, means that the future looks bright for the club from the Brandywell.

Ryan Brolly is a History and International Relations student at Queen’s and a Sport Reporter for The Scoop.

How Derry City pushed Shamrock Rovers all the way; and how they can go again next year.