City 0-0 Derry

[Éanna]

Finished 0-0 in the Brandywell. No doubt this will be hailed as a triumph- "We´ve halted the bad run of defeats" "I said we had a jinx to get out of our system, and we started that today" etc etc., :rolleyes:

[pete]

Match Report at eleven-a-side (http://www.eleven-a-side.com/premier/story.asp?newsid=2366)

A fairly defense looking city lineout although word is city missed a few chances & was more really "2 points lost..."

City seem to badly need a good right winger & a central defender (hoofalot replacement).

[Gary]

Okay, I wasnt there, but id look at it as a point gained, as even when we are playing well, we always lose in Derry. 3 would have been nice but what can we do, aparrt from regrouping and beating the snot out of Drogs on Sunday.


(im bringing my German ol doll with me. Oh the romance eh???) :)

[James]

We left 2 points behind us on sunday

george missed a number of chances including 1 almost open goal as did John O'Flynn.
that said twas our best team performance away from home all season, but derry looked very very ordinary, gifted us alot at the back.

the new kid though Daniel Murray was solid as a rock
cleared everything from the back convincingly

[Colm]

Originally posted by James
the new kid though Daniel Murray was solid as a rock
cleared everything from the back convincingly Is he the solution to our defensive problems?
That was our first clean sheet since the Harps replay I think, it looks like as soon as we stop conceding we stop scoring aswell!:rolleyes:

[pete]

Originally posted by James
...Daniel Murray was solid as a rock cleared everything from the back convincingly

In a big Derek kind of way?

[James]

Originally posted by COLM
Is he the solution to our defensive problems?
That was our first clean sheet since the Harps replay I think, it looks like as soon as we stop conceding we stop scoring aswell!:rolleyes:

well he did have deccie next to him for the match to guide him through it.. so maybe daniels excellant performance is a tribute to deccie's excellant leadership..... :)

yea i think he is the solution, but i'd play him with Gaz, or napier or anyone but deccie... (once he has learnt from deccie's GREAT experiance that is :) )


In a big Derek kind of way?
kindof. yes and no ... in that he was solid in the air, but he also looked ok on the ground also .. looks like a very good find imo

[James]

oh yea and the Daniel Murray also had a goal ruled out from a header from a corner kick in the second half for some reason i couldnt figure out??

[Xlex]

Originally posted by James
the new kid though Daniel Murray was solid as a rock
cleared everything from the back convincingly

I sence a hoof...:D

[pete]

Originally posted by James
...looks like a very good find imo

No doubt Gunther will see John O'Flynn as a threat to his leadership as he recommended him.

:eek:

[Éanna]

Originally posted by pete
No doubt Gunther will see John O'Flynn as a threat to his leadership as he recommended him.

:eek:
:D

All reports I´ve heard on the match have been encouraging. Hope we´ve begun to turn the corner.

[James]

really cause all the online reports i;ve read have come across as it being a boring 0-0 draw..of little chances and skill and cork city grabbing a point rather then leaving 2 points behind ???

[Éanna]

Originally posted by James
really cause all the online reports i;ve read
said heard, not read :p ;)

[pete]

Saw the brief highloights on tv last night.

Murrays disallowed goal was a disgrace! Was absolutely no reason to not allow the goal.

btw John O'Flynn badly missed a couple of open goals.

:(

[Éanna]

O´Flynn really seems to be suffering a crisis of confidence right now. How long before some of the idiots at the Cross start getting on his back and making it worse? :rolleyes:

One or two of the reports I read mentioned that the goal being disallowed was a bit on the dubious side, as decisions go. Important thing is a good away performance at least, we needed it.

[Dricky]

Good to see positive thinks being said about the defence, it a change from the last four matches

[MariborKev]

Lads here is a match report taken from the Derry Journal

As a Derry fan I have no problem admitting that this really was a game in which youse dropped two points as you shpould have beaten us

With the atmosphere certainly suffering as a result of the early kick-off time, this game was never going to reach the heights of the F.A.I. Cup semi-final at Turner's Cross the previous week.
A spectacle it certainly wasn't, but the fact that neither club lost the game will have been warmly welcomed in both camps.
For Cork, in particular, Sunday's game was always going to be a pressure-laden affair. With Derry ending the Leesider's F.A.I. Cup hopes, Liam Murphy's side were left to focus on the eircom league programme.
And considering their horrendous run away from Turner's Cross - they have yet to record a win on their travels this season - Murphy openly admitted that he was happy at not losing Sunday's encounter.
He agreed that in "normal circumstances" a share of the spoils at the Brandywell was always considered a very respectable result.
"But I think we should have won this game," said Murphy afterwards. "We had by far the better chances and, on another day, George O'Callaghan and John O'Flynn would have netted a bagfull of goals between them," declared Murphy.
"But I'm not criticising the efforts of my players. We caused the Derry defence quite a few problems out there but our failure to take advantage of what were glorious chances was very disappointing."
And he also agreed that it was a match his side could so easily have lost. "We had the ball whipped off their goal-line late on and then they almost scored at the other end a minute later. It was a lively contest but, to be honest, I do believe we should have won."
NEW CORK TEAM
Murphy pointed to the fact that Cork now had assembled a "new team" these days with many young players brought in. Gone are seasoned campaigners such as Pat Morley, John Caulfield, Johnny Glynn and Kelvin Flanagan with Cork attempting to take advantage of the collapse of the ITV Digital deal with Nationwide League clubs.
"A number of brave decisions had to be made this season and they were taken in the best interests of Cork City Football Club. Basically, we now have a new team with many new and exciting young players turning out for the club."
And he pointed to Sunday debutante, centre-half Dan Murray, who is on loan on Leeside until the end of the current season from Peterborough United.
"That was his first competitive game for us and I think everyone will agree that he played very well. He defended superbly, had the ball in the Derry net before the 'goal' was wrongly disallowed by the referee and that was the first time I've watched him play in a competitive game," commented Murphy.
He went on: "We have yet to win a match away from home this season and during today's game I genuinely felt we could beat Derry at the Brandywell. We certainly had the chances but at least we've kept a clean-sheet and that was very important."
Did he believe is was a pressure match for his side considering their defeat by Derry in the cup semi-final?
"We were devastated by the result at Turner's Cross, I can't deny that. We felt we had been the better team but nothing seemed to go right for us. That certainly didn't help our confidence and with so many new faces now watching games at Turner's Cross, the defeat was a severe body blow.
"Derry carried a bit of luck, as they did today, and I sincerely hope they continue to carry that luck into the F.A.I. Cup Final. I've always believed that it was very important for the provincial clubs to stand up and be counted and stop Dublin clubs dominating the local scene and it's up to Derry to represent the rest of us in the final," he concluded.
FAIR RESULT
For Derry boss, Kevin Mahon, it was a "fair result" but he again pointed to the Cup Final hype which, he claimed, had affected his players.
"Our players are stressed out at the moment," said Mahon. "The demands for cup final tickets, not only from their families and friends, but from all parts is stressful but, thankfully, that pressure should end this weekend," he added.
Reflecting back on the match, Mahon was the first to agree that Cork certainly squandered gilt-edged scoring chances.
"Both sides had good chances to score and with neither taking advantage I feel the outcome was a fair result. From our point of view, it was vital that we extended our unbeaten run to nine matches and the fact that we didn't concede a goal also has to be welcomed," he continued.
Had Derry managed to win the game, the "Candy Stripes" would have moved up into third spot in the table and while he certainly would have welcomed that, he again pointed to the fact that his squad had been whittled down to the bare bones.
"Our long term injury situation hasn't improved that much with Padraig Moran, Joe Harkin and Tommy McCallion all out and unlikely to recover in time for the F.A.I. Cup final while Peter Hutton and Gareth McGlynn are in a battle against time," said Mahon.
"Indeed, if Peter and Gareth do recover, they will not have trained or played a competitive match in about five weeks and that's not what one would call good preparation for a final.
"So we made another bold decision today by including a 16-year-old on the right wing. Gerard Gill, from Greencastle, is another young lad to have come through the ranks and while I didn't tell him he would be starting until shortly before the kick-off, I told him he would get half an hour to see how it went.
"I though he did well in the circumstances and it will have been good for him to make his home debut. It's all part of the learning process and he will continue to improve. I'm delighted that another local youngster has broken through into the first team squad."
Gill, a former Republic of Ireland Under-16 international, was replaced after 29 minutes by Liam Coyle and that move saw Mahon switch his players around reverting back to the pattern which reaped rewards against Cork in the semi-final.
LIVELY STRIKE-FORCE
O'Callaghan and O'Flynn opened Sunday's match in determined fashion with O'Callaghan going close early on and the home side attempted to settle in front of an attendance estimated to be in excess of 3,000.
But Derry bounced back and Eamon Doherty was unfortunate not to score when put through by Gary Beckett, the Derry skipper's shot deflected wide off the body of a defender.
And Sean Friars could have broken Cork hearts again when he raced clear in the 26th minute after outwitting Alan Carey who failed to clear his lines.
Then Derry keeper, Alan Gough, pulled off a top drawer save in the 27th minute when Dave Warren let fly from outside the area and with the ball finding its way through a forest of legs, the keeper did particularly well to get down and parry it to the safety off his bye-line.
Minutes into the second half and it was the Cork keeper's turn to perform heroics. Beckett attempted to set-up Liam Coyle and when he sliced his shot into the path of Doherty, Michael Devine was equal to the move, blocking the angled shot with his body, denying Derry the lead.
However, in the 59th minute the comedy of errors reached new heights when O'Flynn missed the proverbial sitter. O'Callaghan had beaten the offside trap and when he found his strike partner, totally unmarked inside the area, O'Flynn scuffed his shot and the ball trickled wide of the post - it was an amazing miss.
"GOAL" DISALLOWED
At the other end Beckett's deft chip had to be helped over the crossbar by Devine before the visitors actually placed the ball in the net.
Following a corner, debutante Dan Murray rose above the home defence to head the ball home but referee, Damien Han****, ruled the "score" out for pushing and the Brandywell faithful breathed a sigh of relief.
In the 68th minute, O'Flynn held his head in his hands again when he fluffed another glorious scoring chance. Again O'Callaghan set him up but on this occasion he appeared to lose his footing before tripping over the ball with the goal at his mercy - it was definitely not going to be Cork's day.
And that thought was confirmed when Derry substitute, Darren McCready, cleared Colin T. O'Brien's header off the Derry goal-line in the 90th minute. In the end, few will have complained at the outcome.
DERRY CITY - 4-4-2 - Alan Gough; Kevin Deery, Eddie McCallion, Paddy McLaughlin, Sean Hargan; Gerard Gill, Ciaran Martyn, Eamon Doherty, Sean Friars; John O'Flynn, George O'Callaghan. Subs., Liam Coyle for Gill (29 mins.), Darren McCready for Friars (62 mins.) Not used: Jamie Hughes, Floyd Gilmour and Gareth Mullan.
CORK CITY - 4-4-2 - Michael Devine; Alan Carey, Declan Daly, Dan Murray, Neal Horgan; Greg O'Halloran, Alan Bennett, Alan Reynolds, David Warren; George O'Callaghan, John O'Flynn. Subs., Colin T. O'Brien for O'Halloran (57 mins.), Michael Mulconry for Warren (74 mins.) Not used: Gareth Cronin, Colin P. O'Brien and Noel Mooney.
REFEREE - Mr. Damien Han**** (Dublin

[Éanna]

Originally posted by Maribor
REFEREE - Mr. Damien Han**** (Dublin
:D :D

Looks much better than most match reports on our away games so far this season.

p.s. would someone tell gunther that he doesn´t have to make excuses AFTER saying he´s happy with the result!!!! :rolleyes: