Kenny praises talented youngsters

Derry City manager Stephen Kenny was pleased with his side’s 2-0 win over UCD at Belfield last night, but he did acknowledge that UCD controlled the ball for longer than his side.

“To be honest UCD had the better possession,” said Kenny, speaking after the match, “they passed it really well on a bad pitch… UCD adapted to conditions a bit better than we did. They passed it well, they keep it [the ball] well.”

Rain had made the pitch difficult to play on in areas, and Kenny said that the state of the pitch was a problem throughout the match. “. The pitch was poor tonight, and I couldn’t understand why it wasn’t rolled. Had it been rolled it would have been in better condition.”

Derry got off to a good start after just seven minutes, with Gareth McGlynn scoring. McGlynn finished after a moment of vision from young midfielder Patrick McEleney, who picked out his teammate with a precise pass into the UCD penalty area.

“We got a great start,” acknowledged Kenny, “It was a well-worked goal. Patrick McEleney showed a great bit of vision, [it was] a sublime pass and then a great finish from Gareth McGlynn.”

Kenny went on to heap praise on McEleney, but says that the youngster still has lots to learn. “He had a good season last season and we’re trying to use him more centrally as much as we can. He’s still learning his trade and he still has a lot to learn.”

Chief among the areas Kenny wants to see an improvement in is McEleney’s stamina. “His fitness levels were decent in that match, but he’s the type of player who blows hard early in a game. Fitness-wise he’ll get better with more games. He’s got a very good touch, good vision and can score goals.”

Another youngster who performed well on the night for Derry was the scorer of the second goal, full-back Daniel Lafferty. Kenny spoke of Lafferty’s “tremendous potential”, acknowledging that “it hasn’t come easy for Daniel”.

“He came into the team and he hasn’t found it easy coming back from Celtic. He’s still a young player, but he’s got tremendous potential. Tactically he’s excellent and his defending is getting better all the time.”

Relief was the emotion etched across Kenny’s face, as he described how last week’s loss to Sligo Rovers- thanks to a late goal- had left him “tossing and turning” and “pacing the corridors” in frustration. “After conceding a late goal last week [against Sligo Rovers], the concern was that we wouldn’t do the same. Thankfully we got the second goal through Daniel [Lafferty].”