Monday, September 7, 2009

45 minutes: Half a win is better than all of a defeat.

I only saw half the game on Friday but still managed to see Derry score and miss a penalty. The game was won in the first half and having established a two goal advantage, Derry never seriously looked like letting that lead slide.

Conversely, whilst Dundalk didn’t look like getting back into the game the fact that they were down to ten man wasn’t at all obvious. They battled very hard and I thought the middle three of McAreavey, Daly and McGowan were very industrious. They do take the honour of being a side built in the image of their manager and being the mouthiest side in the division. Every challenge, for or against them, they seem to berate the referee. And this was without Mental Mickey on the pitch!

I thought the referee Mr Connolly had a decent game and to follow the cliché of a good referee, you didn’t really notice him. The assistant on the far side drew a fair bit of ire from the City support, but I think we have to look at the inability of our own strikers to time their runs more so that the official’s flag work.

Liam Kearney made a welcome return and showed more in fifteen minutes than we have seen from him so far this season. He skipped past two players and put a ball into the box which was headed wide by Martyn. He was also hauled down from what was a cast iron penalty. Farren didn’t take the opportunity by Kearney popped up at the back post to head home Scullion’s cross to make it three, late in the game.

With Bohs losing again, the talk turned to what might have been had it not been for the midweek defeat to Galway. As it is City are still eight points behind the front runners but with the top two still to come at the Brandywell the League is far from decided as yet. We’ll need a great run of form, but we may yet be the dark horse to come up on the rails.

Or as they say in Sky Sports land, we’ll have a big hand in where the title ends up this year.

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