- Ciaran Duffy
- Fri, Mar 14 2008
An eager crowd of over 5,000 turned out for Derry's first home game of the season and all but a rowdy contingent of 400 Harps supporters will have gone home happy with the result if not the performance.
Neither side will have expected an easy match in what is loosely described as a local derby as the Northwest's big two squared up for the first time in three years in the league. The term "derby" is also stretched in these parts to include matches with Sligo in a league that is somewhat overrun with Dublin teams.
A quick start to the game saw Derry throw the first punch as both teams struggled to find their feet. Indeed the first chance fell to McCourt who caught a nervous Labonte in possession but Gallagher rose to the occasion with a great block to deny the tricky maestro. Unfortunately no Derry player was able to follow up on the rebound and the chance was lost.
Derry's second chance came again from the straggly haired wizard with five minutes yet to pass. A teasing incisive ball, from inside the Derry half and, through the Harps defence was enough to tempt Gallagher off his line and into a race with Mark Farren. The frankly faster Derry forward was unlucky to see his shot drift wide of the far post with the Harps keeper stranded in no man's land.
Harps were able to build some pressure of their own and Derry's unsettled defence showed why it is yet to keep a clean sheet. Harps found it difficult to create a clear chance for themselves but Derry almost conspired to help them. First, Quigley cleared a simple pass but only as far as the edge of his box; fortunately Delaney was on hand to prevent Gethins from capitalising. Soon after though, Delaney could only watch as Quigley returned the favour. An innocuous cross into the area took a deflection off Delaney's shoulder and the Derry keeper was forced into a full stretch save.
Harps best chance of the half fell to Gethins a few minutes later. A good pass from midfield by Breen caught out Hutton and the Lifford man looked lively. However Hutton was able to recover to restrict Gethins to a shot from the edge of the box and Quigley dealt with it comfortably in the end.
An exciting opening twenty minutes was followed by a quiet fifteen. Both teams jousted and exchanged jabs but it was Derry who finally managed to draw first blood. McGinn, a new signing from Dungannon Swifts in the close season, had only started to come alive and many fans were still wondering if he would make the step up in a better league. In the 40th minute he was to silence his critics with a super cross that was finely met by Mark Farren in the 6 yard box. The strong header was sent home past a flat footed Gallagher.
Derry entered half time with the all important goal and Harps heads were understandably down. Their manager, Paul Hegarty, will have had some choice words to say during the interval and to be honest it seemed to have the desired effect. The restart saw Higgins with a decent run from the right but his powerful shot was met by a full stretch save from Gallagher and immediately the counter attack was on. Harps moved quickly into the Derry box and Quigley had to be sharp to see the ball wide for a corner. It was from this pressure Harps were finally to bear some fruit.
The resulting corner gave way to a poorly defended free kick which Stuart Malcolm was able to bundle over the line on 49minutes, much to the delight of the travelling support. Kenny will have been just as annoyed as Hegarty to see his team concede so close to half time. Harps weren't willing to let that lie however and continued to push for a winner while Derry remained on the back foot. Corner after corner rained on Derry and inevitably Harps found another opening. Breen adjusted his body but was unable to prevent his snapped shot from sailing high and wide. Harps were soon to rue that squandered chance as Derry began to compose themselves.
McGinn grew in confidence as the game wore on and ran at Harps on a number of occasions. McCourt too gave the home support much to be cheerful about although the final ball was hard to find. On the hour, Kenny sent his subs to warm up and one or two players may have known their shift was nearing it's end. Harps kept pushing and Breen was unlucky not to score when a good pass found him on the edge of the Derry box. He was able to stand Hutton up and get off a decent shot but Quigley got down well to his left to keep the ball out.
Just before the 70th minute, Martyn was introduced in place of Higgins who, although not really a fans favourite, had put in a good shift alongside Molloy. McHugh followed soon after giving way to Conor Sammon and McGinn left to make way for Owen Morrison in the 78th minute. The substitutions were to prove inspired and Derry sprang into life.
Former Derry player Shaun Holmes was lucky to avoid a yellow card when he recklessly, or more likely cynically, chopped down McCourt. The resulting free kick was wasted against the wall but it wasn't long before Derry found a winner. Morrison was too quick for Roddy and got behind the young right back before cutting along the by-line. His half shot/half cross was parried by Gallagher who could only watch as Martyn slipped in the rebound.
The game ended without much more incident. Roddy was replaced with Marc Brolly in an attempt to chase the game but Derry were to take all three points. Hegarty will be disappointed not to have had a share in the spoils but can take heart from a worthy display by his newly promoted team.
Derry City: Darren Quigley; Eddie McCallion, Peter Hutton, Clive Delaney, Steven Gray; Niall McGinn (Owen Morrison 80), Barry Molloy, Ruaidhri Higgins (Ciaran Martyn 69), Paddy McCourt; Mark Farren, Kevin McHugh (Conor Sammon 73).
Finn Harps: James Gallagher; Sean Roddy (Marc Brolly 90+1), Aaron Labonte, Stuart Malcolm, Shaun Holmes; Chris Breen, Shaun McGowan, Tony Shields (Michael Funston 85), Shaun Williams; Stephen Parkhouse, Conor Gethins.
Referee: Anthony Buttimer.
Attendance: 6,870
