CHARLIE FROM THE STANDS: One game at a time, even on a double week…

Each year, when fixtures for a forthcoming season are released, there are always a handful of ties which fans look out for. For Derry City this season, it would have undoubtedly been the games against Shamrock Rovers – games which many felt would determine where the title would go.

In the opening weeks of this League of Ireland, that focus has probably shifted slightly towards Damien Duff’s Shelbourne who are becoming this well-oiled machine, and thwarted Derry City with a 0-0 draw on Easter Monday to maintain their tremendous start.

However, even before the start of this season, I had suggested that whichever club picked up the most points – home and away – against the likes of Waterford, Galway United, Sligo Rovers and Dundalk, would ultimately win the league. The big games look after themselves and always will.

On Good Friday, an audience of 10,000 spectators packed Tallaght Stadium to witness what many deem the biggest fixture in the domestic calendar – Shamrock Rovers versus Bohemians. With an attendance of that scale, who am I to argue?

Bohs, under the new stewardship of Alan Reynolds, would go into the game hoping to stunt Rovers’ resurgence of form. However, despite a slow start to the game from the home side, they dominated, running out 3-1 winners over their rivals. What made the victory even more impressive, was that they did so missing Rory Gaffney, Neil Farrugia, Aaron McEneff and Trevor Clarke – four players who would walk into any team in the Premier Division. Amassing such a strong squad comes at a price, right? Of course it does. But when you can pay for that squad, through a revenue that no other club in the league has, you can afford to pack your squad with the best players.

A prime example would be the figures generated from the Dublin Derby with Bohs last week. Gate receipts alone would have been in excess of the €125,000 that they picked up for winning the title in 2023. That revenue was across matchday tickets, food and drink, merchandise and one-off commercial deals. Now, don’t get me wrong - I dislike Shamrock Rovers more than any other team, and I’m happy to admit that - but sometimes you have to tip your hat to what they have created over time.  

They have a winning environment, a playing and non-playing staff structure which doesn’t undergo surgery every year, a solid off-the-pitch setup and a stadium which can cater for the growing interest that comes with success. But what they also appear to have is an actual plan of how to maintain longevity and sustainability. That is crucial in it all.

How embarrassing must it be for the FAI that a club can generate more revenue from one fixture alone than they would from winning the league? The FAI must look at the prize money across the board for the 2024 season – by hook or by crook, it must be considerably increased.

Derry City are certainly building towards this longevity. Longer contracts for players, stadium development, an influx of ideas and actual plans around how the club can develop its own footprint on and off the field. All of this will play a role in creating that sustainable structure. But what will determine this when there isn’t a four-in-a-row to fall back on, is the immediate success the club has on the pitch.

Essentially, every game is a big game for Derry City. Every game is an opportunity for them to step closer to where they desire to be. Which must make the Easter game-week outcome so disappointing.

By contrast to the scenes in Tallaght, Derry City were put away without a whimper on Friday evening, in a result that few would have foreseen. The most impressive thing about this result wasn’t the 1-0 win for Galway United, because promoted teams have come to the Brandywell and won before, and they will win in the future. However, it was the performance of John Caulfield’s side, all over the park. Their full-backs - Esau and Kazeem - were strong, quick and aggressive; Aodh Dervin was my MOTM on the right-hand side with an energetic, tigerish display; and Brendan Clarke may as well have stayed on the bus with the amount of action he seen.

This wasn’t a smash-and-grab by any means - it was a performance that we have heard about from other teams that have played Galway this season. Before Monday night, Galway had conceded just four goals in seven games. Derry City on the other hand, just weren’t at it from the start – something that is worrying and can’t continue, but the players on the pitch just didn’t turn up. They looked as if they lacked passion, aggression, creativity, and ideas. Everything you need going to Tolka Park to play the current league leaders.

So when Monday came around, I sat in the media box in Tolka Park and felt reasonably optimistic, only because of the inclusion of Adam O’Reilly and Pat Hoban. This gave me hope that Derry could come away with a positive result against the steam-train that is Shels. And that is just what transpired.

O’Reilly was immense throughout, despite looking to be carrying an ankle injury. He was first to every ball, didn’t allow Shelbourne to control the game from midfield and his energy appeared to rub off on the rest of the team. His importance cannot be underestimated. The 3-4-2-1 formation, with O’Reilly in the centre, worked a treat defensively. Going forward, it gave Shelbourne a real headache with both O’Reilly and Will Patching being able to get free from the Shels midfield unit, affording Derry some creativity in that area.

In fairness to Shelbourne, they defended well throughout and a draw was a fair result, and one which both managers would probably have taken at the beginning of the game. What Derry must do though is overcome Dundalk this week, minus the services of Patrick McEleney, Sadou Diallo, Pat Hoban, Cameron Dummigan, Ben Doherty and Colm Whelan - arguably some of their best attacking players. But like Shamrock Rovers, Derry now have a squad which is expected to be able to cope with these absences and get results.

Derry’s one point from six last weekend cannot stem into this weekend. As mentioned, the league will be decided on the results from games against Waterford, Drogheda, Galway, Sligo and Dundalk. And that table looks like this after the first round of games:

Around the league, Bohemians’ decision to replace their manager has already seen an upturn in their results, despite the Dublin derby defeat. St Pat’s 3-0 win over Sligo Rovers on Monday came with arguably their most influential player, Chris Forrester, only getting 13 minutes on the pitch – so they are beginning to find their functionality without their star man at the helm.

This year will be a real war of attrition, and it will come down to whoever picks up the points, particularly in those games.

So, it begs the question, who wants it more?