Games weekend 17th/18th June

[joey B]

Need another month break....

[redarmyfaction]

Like a winters night in the Showgrounds cold rain and gusts wind whipping the ball over the place made for a scrappy game with a fair result.

[joey B]

4 wins in 32 games for us,sums it up pretty much....

[Nesta99]

Like a winters night in the Showgrounds cold rain and gusts wind whipping the ball over the place made for a scrappy game with a fair result.

Maybe drawing Bala wasnt the best, theyd be used to the worst of weather. A continental side, on the other hand, could have folded just looking out at the best of west of Ireland summer weather. Mad how the teams from the North West are showing such similar form atm!

[Nah Nah Nah Nah]

If we’re relying on the weather to win the first round of a conference league we may as well forget about it

Played well first half. Second half not so good but the game was over at that stage.

Keena is unreal.

[Jd2793]

harps were battered. ollies magic is wearing off.

[The Bowler]

Fear for Harps. Can't see them picking up any obvious wins. Who finishes bottom is going to boil down to the two head to heads with UCD, who will be down both Whelan and Kerrigan for the remainder of season

[Jd2793]

Fear for Harps. Can't see them picking up any obvious wins. Who finishes bottom is going to boil down to the two head to heads with UCD, who will be down both Whelan and Kerrigan for the remainder of season

wheres kerrigan going ?

[The Bowler]

wheres kerrigan going ?

genuinely don't know. Lincoln City and Rovers were mentioned, but I saw something on Twitter suggesting Derry might be in for him and Whelan, even with Whelan out fir the season. Let's hope it's not Celtic, the graveyard for Irish talent

[brendy_éire]

Out of interest, was their any targets publicly stated by DCFC, eg challenge for the title reach QR2 of the ECL etc. It was more LoI followers probably, that championed their potential to catch SRFC, myself included and up 'til April, with a much heavier schedule in prospect for Rovers after the break maybe to October/November, I thought that opinion was justifiable.

To qualify was for Europe was the stated goal.

Should have had Friday's game sown up in the first half hour. The second half was a non-event.
Yes, Drogs penalty was a dive, and McGonigle was fouled in the box at the end, but we should have been out of sight at that point.

More generally, there have been tactical mistakes being made by Higgins. Our midfield isn't settled, and is often bypassed when the opposition press up on us.
Friday, for example, Drogs switched formation at half time. No reaction from Higgins even when it clearly wasn't working.
I have concerns about our defending, we rarely keep clean sheets.
That would be more acceptable if we were scoring freely, which we're not. McGonigle is a cracking player, but we can't have him up front by himself. It doesn't work. Higgins seems to insist that we start Matty Smith, so why not put him up with McGonigle rather than on the wing?

All very frustrating.
I don't think his job is in any danger, way to early for that chat, but he'd certainly be expected to reduce the 24 point deficit to Shamrock Rovers last season.
That's looking less likely by the week though.

[ontheotherhand]

Is it a case of not having enough bite or cover in the middle for Derry? Dummigan is playing that role now I think? Loads of creative players there but maybe missing an experienced base in midfield? You could say the same about us this season and last to a certain extent but we have O'Neill at least. We still have a McEneff shaped hole in the team though.

[ToberonaTornado]

To qualify was for Europe was the stated goal.

Should have had Friday's game sown up in the first half hour. The second half was a non-event.
Yes, Drogs penalty was a dive, and McGonigle was fouled in the box at the end, but we should have been out of sight at that point.

More generally, there have been tactical mistakes being made by Higgins. Our midfield isn't settled, and is often bypassed when the opposition press up on us.
Friday, for example, Drogs switched formation at half time. No reaction from Higgins even when it clearly wasn't working.
I have concerns about our defending, we rarely keep clean sheets.
That would be more acceptable if we were scoring freely, which we're not. McGonigle is a cracking player, but we can't have him up front by himself. It doesn't work. Higgins seems to insist that we start Matty Smith, so why not put him up with McGonigle rather than on the wing?

All very frustrating.
I don't think his job is in any danger, way to early for that chat, but he'd certainly be expected to reduce the 24 point deficit to Shamrock Rovers last season.
That's looking less likely by the week though.

Its a difficult one.Higgins is a decent manager but has it all gotten too comfy for him at Derry.

I hope Derry dont do it (push the next manager button)

[Nesta99]

The O'Doherty has always given managers time even to a fault. It would be out of character not to follow through on agreed plans and its always been said that challenging for the title would be over 2 seasons of developing the squad, it was us LoI armchair pundits that put Derry as main challengers to Rovers. As long as it doesnt involve a relegation battle (Finn Harps are doing their bit to help prevent that) i'd say he is safe enough. If Derry are struggling to get a European slot for next year, well the chairman can plug that financial hole so maybe not as essential for Derry as it would for other clubs to keep budgets competitive, so Higgins may be ok then too. If the chairman is trying to build the club as self sustaining and to not need him as benefactor, then Higgins will be on notice if there is no obvious progression or the dressing room is unsettled. It takes a really good man manager to keep things right especially against the backdrop of knowing that there's a big source of money.