Greedy Derry continue sick obsession with League Cup

[Poor Student]

Only joking. :p Fair play to Derry. Congrats. Too shattered to analyse the game not that I absorbed it as normal.

[crc]

wahey! I just found out 5 mins ago (I was away from the office). I'd like to have seen UCD in the Setanta Cup, and if you'd been playing any other team I'd have wanted you to win!

[Poor Student]

wahey! I just found out 5 mins ago (I was away from the office). I'd like to have seen UCD in the Setanta Cup, and if you'd been playing any other team I'd have wanted you to win!

We still can, FAI Cup! :D

[crc]

erm... but we want that too! :p

[Poor Student]

erm... but we want that too! :p

It's our turn, fair is fair. ;)

[pineapple stu]

Full report to follow when I watch the video, but for now...

Derry City sealed a deserved - and record - sixth League Cup with a 2-1 victory over UCD in Belfield Park tonight. In reality, given the visitors' possession, the result flattered UCD, although in the end, it needed an own goal in first half injury time to confirm the Candystripes' win.

With neither Robbie Martin nor Conor Kenna fully fit, manager Pete Mahon went with the same team which had beaten Bray at the weekend. However, within 14 minutes, Derry were ahead when Alan Murphy shot hom from outside the area past the despairing dive of Darren Quigley.

UCD rallied, but far too many long balls were mopped up by the Derry defence, while attempts to pass through the midfield were snuffed by the Derry midfield. UCD could have had an equaliser when Derry keeper David Forde allowed a cross to slip through his hands under no pressure at all, and it was the visiting keeper who allowed UCD back into the game. He was caught in no man's land when a cross came in, and though his defence cleared, Conan Byrne took advantage of the keeper's poor positioning to strike his first senior goal for the club from well outside the box.

It looked as if the clubs would enter the break level, but just before half-time, a cross from the right was turned past his own keeper by the unfortunate Pat McWalter.

In the second half, Derry were much the better team, although good defending - particularly from Mick O'Donnell - kept the visitors at bay. UCD's best chances were a couple of crosses fizzed across the area; one, coming in injury time, conjured up memories of the remarkable comeback in the semi-final in Tolka Park last month. However, after nothing came of the corner, the referee called time on the game and the Cup was heading north again.

UCD - Quigley; Mahon, O'Donnell, Shortall, McDonnell; Hurley, Gannon (Kenna), Dicker, McWalter (Dupuy); C Byrne, Murphy (Martin). Subs not used - Gallagher, Harte

Att - 2157

[Poor Student]

Att - 2157

Seriously!? :eek:

[pineapple stu]

Yep. Well, 2157 or 2174 or something like that. 21xx anyway. Capacity was 2500 for the night.

Watched the goals last night - amazing how far out I was on the descriptions above!!

[Poor Student]

I haven't seen them yet. My dad said Byrne's goal had nothing to do with the keeper but just a great finish. My older brother who went to Pats games years ago when they were winning titles said the LOI has improved beyond all recognition. My dad was impressed too watching at home.

I have a funny story. A friend of mine who I sold a ticket to decided to give him ticket up to barstool at the last minute when he discovered his beloved Spurs were playing in the Carling Cup on Sky. They ended up getting knocked out 1-0 by Grimsby. :D

[pineapple stu]

Clive and someone else went up for a header, Byrne was putting pressure and Clive's header went to space; Byrne shot first time into the corner. The keeper had started to come for the long ball and was caught in no-man's-land. He wasn't as culpable as I made out, but he should definitely have done better.

Thought it was a poor enough game myself, to be honest. Maybe that's good if poor games are getting good reviews!

[Poor Student]

Technically it was a decent enough game. I thought Derry were very strong and organised in defending. I thought we played nice at times. Mainly Dicker and Hurley, they do some very intelligent and nice things in midfield. However we lacked the final cutting edge. Story of our season really, or even our club. Thank God there was a good crowd, a lot of hard work was put into getting people to go to this one.

I think the major problems were the abesence of Tony Mac in midfield. Yes Hurley and Dicker are better than him going forward but we need his strength to stop the opposition bypassing the midfield. Also we needed Robbie Martin up front. You're not going to win the aerial or strength game against Derry's defence and I thought we needed his pace to get in around them. Also we could have done with a fit Ally Mac and Kenna defence. I think the injuries could have done with another week to clear up. Ah well, Bray on Friday, we must pick it up again.

[CuanaD]

might have looked a poor game if you were there, but it looked good on TV

[pineapple stu]

might have looked a poor game if you were there, but it looked good on TV
That's good to hear at least!

[Poor Student]

might have looked a poor game if you were there, but it looked good on TV

Great news. A cup final is enjoyable and not enjoyable at the same time with all at stake. Our view could be skewed by the bitter taste of defeat.

[GK for the Town]

It was a great nite for a great football match but the game didnt really match up.
There was some good defending on both sides that left little room for chances for either team. The midfield battle was also good. I thought Dicker was very good last nite. He sure does get around the pitch.
I'm not too sure if the Derry keeper was at fault for the goal but he was a DODGY KEEPER !! all nite(apart from when he came out and plucked the last corner of the game out of the air).

[pineapple stu]

I'm not too sure if the Derry keeper was at fault for the goal
Look at his positioning when the shot comes in. He's ten yards off his line and backpedalling. He must have come for the long ball and then had second thoughts. Because he was backpedalling, he kind of fell rather than dived at the shot. I've actually never rated him, to be honest, even going back to his days at Galway (what West Ham saw in him, I'll never know!).

Anyway, we all know UCD have the best keeper in the league, and he'll shortly have the U-21 caps to prove it! :)

[TomRed]

Look at his positioning when the shot comes in. He's ten yards off his line and backpedalling. He must have come for the long ball and then had second thoughts. Because he was backpedalling, he kind of fell rather than dived at the shot. I've actually never rated him, to be honest, even going back to his days at Galway (what West Ham saw in him, I'll never know!).

Anyway, we all know UCD have the best keeper in the league, and he'll shortly have the U-21 caps to prove it! :)

I dont know how you can say that. Hes playing very well for Derry city, who are hoping to do the treble this season. He never got a chance at west ham because David James was there. He had a contract extension on the table, on provision they didnt get relegated, but they did. There were 5 clubs in ireland trying to sign him. and hes being linked back to england again at end of this season. He must be doing something right. hes not world class,he has the under 21 caps to prove it!, and id have him in goals anyday to that clown ye have!

[Poor Student]

The clown we have? :confused:

[Krstic]

David Forde has been outstanding this season.

Of all the players at our club, I think he is the one we risk losing at the end of the season as I feel he may get another stab at full-time footy in Engerland or Scotland. :ball:

[daniel]

Krisitic David won't leave Ireland again to go to England, last time he did this he had given up all hope of playing football again, and was about to hang up the boots when Stephen Kenny had offered him the chance to play for us, who in the right mind would give something so good up to maybe destroy himself.

[John83]

David Forde has been outstanding this season.
I'll take your word for it. I doubt Derry would be where they are in the league without a decent keeper. I have to agree with the others who've called his performance last night into question though. He looked nervous and I thought that an equaliser was as likely to be gifted by him as to come from our less than impressive attacks.

[Terry]

Krisitic David won't leave Ireland again to go to England, last time he did this he had given up all hope of playing football again, and was about to hang up the boots when Stephen Kenny had offered him the chance to play for us, who in the right mind would give something so good up to maybe destroy himself.


Where did you hear that sh*te from? David has never even considered hanging up his boots. He still only young and loves the game. Also, he said that GUFC would be the club where hes going to end his career, just to keep the wife happy :) . He wont be going back to the UK either, to many bad memories.

[pete]

I thought the game was very poor. Pitch looked too grassy so ball didn't run well. From the bits i saw looked like men against boys literally & UCD seemed incapable of making 2 or 3 passes together.

[pineapple stu]

I dont know how you can say that.
On the basis of not having seen him very often, I'll admit. Just an impression I've formed of him.


and I'd have him in goals anyday to that clown ye have!
The clown who is the Irish U-21 keeper in waiting?

[pineapple stu]

I thought the game was very poor. Pitch looked too grassy so ball didn't run well. From the bits I saw looked like men against boys literally & UCD seemed incapable of making 2 or 3 passes together.
Pretty much exactly my thoughts as well (apart from the pitch, which was in great nick, especially compared to recent weeks). Maybe we're just naturally cyncial! :)

[Poor Student]

I think the pitch was grand. I tresspassed on it earlier in the day.

[Schumi]

Enough about David Forde. :rolleyes: You rate him, we don't so everyone's happy that he plays for you and not us. Can we just leave it there please?

I think we were overcome by nerves to an extent and didn't really play well. We were a bit toothless in attack again and Derry's defence did very well. I couldn't see us getting a second equaliser from about 20 minutes to go. There just didn't seem to be anywhere that it was going to come from.

We really missed Tony Mac in midfield. Dicker and Hurley are both excellent players but either with Tony would give a much better balance to the midfield. Derry were able to get past the middle too easily which put the defence under more pressure than it needed to be.

Disappointing to concede the second goal so close to half-time (and so soon after our equaliser). Had we held on til half-time, it would have been interesting to see whether Derry could have broken through as our defence dealt very well with them.

On another point, I'd like to say well done to everyone involved in getting the ground ready for the game. It looked great (hopefully on TV as well) and deserved the great crowd that turned up.

[Colie]

I thought Dicker was very good last nite. He sure does get around the pitch.

Eh, that was his worst game of the season. Jaysus, you should see him on a good day! He's amazing.

Well fookit anyway. I'm pretty upset at losing. College were all over the gaf & totally underperformed, including the manager.

Fooking stewards wouldn't even let a cripple like me into the seating area;"thats waht they paid their 5 bob more for" (thanks for the ticket lads but I left my phone in the car). :(

On the upside I was chatting to former goalkeeping coach (of Barry Quinn & Pat Jennings) "Arthur", who was well into his UCD footy & even got free tea & sangers at half time.

Sure well settle for the FAI cup I guess.

[HarpoJoyce]

Congratulations to City on their win.

I'm pleased to hear the match got good reviews on the TV. Derry were well able for us and I'd liked to have seen us stretch them a bit more.

BTW, I hope this won't be blamed on Belfield but what match was Denis Bradley watching in Derry last night?


Politicians condemn Derry pub assault
September 21, 2005 16:56

Politicians have condemned an assault on Denis Bradley, the Vice-Chairman of the Northern Ireland Policing Board.

Mr Bradley was hit on the head several times by a masked man armed with a baseball bat in a pub in the Brandywell area of Derry last night.

The policing board member was watching a soccer match on television when the attacked happened shortly before 10pm.

Mr Bradley's condition is not said to be serious.

This page : http://www.rte.ie/news/2005/0921/bradleyd

The prognosis for the Setanta game would just be starting at that time. Also, I heard in another report that the pub was on the Lecky Road, which is close enough to the Brandywell. Is this a football pub, or do they just have a big screen?

Still a good win for Derry though, well done

[pineapple stu]

Eh, that was his worst game of the season.
I was thinking that. On the Rovers forum, some of them singled him out for praise, but I saw on boards.ie they said he never really got into the game. He had a few too many flicked passes which didn't come off and started off Derry attacks. Don't think he was alone there though.

Think you're a bit harsh on Mahon though. He went 3-4-3 for the last while and certainly pushed on a bit. We were hit with injuries to Robbie, Kenna and Allie Mac. Derry are on a massive high at the moment and are largely full-time - don't think the result was a shock, to be honest. We'll just have to look to Bray on Friday - if we play like we did last Friday, we should win that and have another live match to look forward to.

[Colie]

IThink you're a bit harsh on Mahon though. He went 3-4-3 for the last while and certainly pushed on a bit. We were hit with injuries to Robbie, Kenna and Allie Mac. Was Kenna defo not fully fit? Paj was doing better than Gary who he looked wrecked tired which Mahon must have missed. I think he made the wrong subs, but the whole thing had gone to pieces for us at that stage anyway.

[MariborKev]

Denis Bradley was watching the Derry City game as he is a season ticket holder at the Brandywell

[pineapple stu]

Was Kenna defo not fully fit?
Some of the previews I read during the day said he was fit enough to play some part, which he did. I assume that implied he wasn't fit to play 90 minutes. You may have a point on the subs. Still, win some, lose some.

[lefty]

Deadly match, dont remember to much of what happened on the pitch during the match but that was the best craic ive had at a match in years and the worst hang over in years followed this morning :p

[CollegeTillIDie]

I f***in hate the League Cup doubt we will ever win it now. 20 years of abject failure followed by 5 years of flattering to deceive :(

[GK for the Town]

a few of my mates tried to get up on the hill behind the subs benches to get a decent view of the game but were told to get down. Anyone know the reason ?

[Schumi]

a few of my mates tried to get up on the hill behind the subs benches to get a decent view of the game but were told to get down. Anyone know the reason ?
Health and safety I assume. I was sure I saw people up there though.

[pineapple stu]

Technically, you're not allowed on the hill for Health and Safety reasons. Didn't stop the couple of hundred who were on it throughout the match though.

Incidentally (and the final word on David Forde until he crops up again) I watched some of the video last night and, while Clive's header was weak, when Byrne shot, Forde was actually turned the other way and running back into position! Cardinal sin for a goalkeeper, and his footwork was woeful as well to be turned and running back into position (instead of sidestepping). I see the Examiner singled him out as being very hesitant throughout as well.

[Schumi]

the final word on David Forde
You better believe it. I'm splitting any more posts on that subject.

[pineapple stu]

Oooh, our very own David Forde thread! :)

[Schumi]

I didn't say I was splitting it into this forum! :p

[pineapple stu]

You mean the David Forde stuff would go to rubbish? :eek:

How apt! :D

[pineapple stu]

Got around to watching the video there tonight. Amazing how different a match can look on telly compared to when you're in the stands engrossed!

It was a poor first half, but the second half picked up a lot. We only misplaced every fourth pass rather than every other pass. Dicker had a very poor game in centre-mid - lost possession a lot and seemed disinterested at times when tracking back. Musn't be the finished article yet. :)

Setanta's commentary was a bit patronising at times. Apart from not doing their homework (I know, I know!) properly - Brian Gannon our top scorer with three?! - their reaction to our equaliser ("What a fantastic moment for UCD and their fans! They're back in the game!!") was in the tone of S****horpe taking the lead at Chelsea in the FA Cup: really small but plucky team incredibly gets back into match they have no chance at all of winning sort of thing.

Anyway, ranting over. Have updated the website with a new report, so may as well put that here as well...



Derry City sealed a deserevd - and record - sixth League Cup with a 2-1 victory over UCD in from of a crowd of 2150 at a packed Belfield Park tonight. In reality, given the visitors' possession, the result flattered UCD, although in the end, it needed an own goal in first half injury time to confirm the Candystripes' win.

With neither Robbie Martin nor Conor Kenna fully fit, manager Pete Mahon went with the same team which had beaten Bray at the weekend. They started the stronger, with Anto Murphy and Tony McDonnell getting on the end of Stephen Hurley free-kicks within the first five minutes, though to no real end result.

However, Derry got back into the game and took the lead with their first real attack on 14 minutes. Gary Dicker gave the ball away under no pressure, and Alan Murphy seized the chance to run 20 yards past Dicker and Tony McDonnell before firing low into the bottom corner from 20 yards.

Dicker was having a tough time of it in particular - five minutes later, he lost possession again on half-way and Stephen Hurley dived in with a late challenge to try and win possession back only to pick up a yellow card for his troubles.

With many passes going astray, UCD's best chances came from set pieces. Former Student Clive Delaney was lucky not to be booked five minutes after Hurley's yellow wth a late lunge on Anto Murphy; Derry keeper David Forde - who had already played a backpass straight into touch under very little pressure - let the free slip through his hands, but no blue jerseys were there to capitalise.

Ten minutes later, Delaney did enter the referee's book for a foul on Conan Byrne 10 yards outside the area; Alan Mahon's shot from distance was blocked by his own captain and although the rebound broke to Gary Dicker, the Derry defence was able to clear.

On 40 minutes, though, UCD were level. Stephen Hurley's hopeful punt was poorly dealt with by Clive Delaney, under pressure from Conan Byrne, and Byrne himself was on hand to seize on the loose ball with a first-time shot which caught David Forde by surprise - he was in fact running the other way to get back into position, having initially come for the long ball - and trickled into the bottom corner.

Parity lasted all of three minutes before Killian Brennan burst through the middle and played a through ball for Mark Farren; the ball glanced off Farren and changed path sufficiently enough for Pat McWalter's attempted clearance to turn into a pass into the bottom corner for an unfortunate own goal.

Within a minute, UCD could have been level when Peter Hutton was bustled off the ball by Byrne, only for the UCD forward to lose his footing as Forde snuffed out the danger.

The second half started out at the same pace as the first half had ended - we had to wait all of 30 seconds before Gary Beckett called Darren Quigley into action with a shot from the edge of the area. And a minute later again, Mark Farren flicked a Derry long-ball over Tony McDonnell's head only to loft his shot into the side netting.

UCD responded by bringing on Robbie Martin, back after a spell injured, and their game picked up, with Brian Gannon in particular causing problems. On 56 minutes, he broke down the right and, under pressure from Seán Hargan, shot narrowly over from a tight angle.

Gannon and Mahon were beginning to link up well on the wing, and another Mahon cross saw Forde hesitant, but the two UCD players in the box were too far away to make the final contact. It was the story of the night as far as UCD were concerned, with the Students never getting enough players into the box to create enough problems.

On 72 minutes, Conan Byrne span away from three Derry players and played Robbie Martin in on the left; Martin's squared return to Byrne was cleared for a corner. The corner was cleared as far as Gannon, who shaped up for a shot only to play a clever through ball which set Tony McDonnell free - this time, Seán Hargan cleared his cut-back along the six-yard box for another corner.

Although UCD probably shaded the second half in terms of number of attacks, Derry were the more dangerous going forward, and Stephen Hurley had to be alert to block another former UCD player, Ciarán Martyn's, shot from just outside the area. Then Pat McCourt set Killian Brennan away, and his shot required a full-length save from Darren Quigley, although Derry had a man over at the far post.

As the game entered injury time, memories of the semi-final win were inevitably conjured up. The ball ping-ponged about in Derry's box a couple of times, while Pat McCourt was released on the break as Derry looked to make it three, although the sub had little impact. With 20 seconds remaining, Alan Mahon put across a cross with the outside of his boot which was just over O'Donnell and McDonnell. The ref's dubious decision to give a corner was protested vehemently by the Derry players, but it mattered little as Forde claimed the set-piece, won a free and ended the game to seal Derry's Cup.

UCD - Quigley; Mahon, O'Donnell, Shortall, McDonnell; Hurley, Gannon (Kenna 80), Dicker, McWalter (Dupuy 88); C Byrne, Murphy (Martin 57). Subs not used - Gallagher, Harte

[John83]

Derry City sealed a deserevd ...
Oh dear...