“We don't care how we get our hands on the trophy, as long as we do' - Derry's Brian Maher

Brian Maher is expecting a much busier cup final for himself personally this Sunday, insisting that the 2022 victory was once in a lifetime.

The Derry City goalkeeper had extremely little to do as Derry City ran all over Shelbourne at the Aviva two years ago, more or less a spectator in the completely one-sided 4-0 victory.

“We don't care how we get our hands on the trophy, as long as we do,” he stated. That's what a cup final is. It's very, very rare that you get a win like we did last time. Nobody expected that. No one in our dressing room expected that.

"We know that's not going to be like that again this year. We need to be at our best to bring the trophy back up to Derry.”

Maher came to Derry City to win trophies and having enjoyed one of the more memorable days of his life on his last visit to the Aviva with his club, he is hoping to savour the feeling again once more. Even though he knows it will be much more difficult this time around.

“It's a massive day for us,” he agreed.

“It's a huge opportunity. It's one that you're looking forward to. From the very start of the year, you want to be in this game.

"Everybody in the league does. It's the biggest day in the calendar.”

“Drogheda are a really good side. They've really good players and they've had a top manager for a few years now. He's built a really good squad and they've added two in the summer. "We're under no illusions. It's not going to be an easy game. You can go in as favourites, but to be honest, that means nothing in a cup final.”

The Candystripes have beaten the current holders of the trophy and the newly crowned Premier Division and First Division champions on the way to the final, making City’s journey to the Aviva especially memorable.

“I don't think there's been much tougher routes to the final in the cup that I can remember,” Maher laughed. “It will give us confidence. We've been brilliant in the cup all year. We've had a few too many poor results in the league that let us down, but they're completely separate. At the end of the day, there's two chances to win a trophy in this country. We've gone very close at one and now we have a chance to win the other one.”

Bounce back

Maher and his team mates will have to put the pain of Shelbourne’s title win behind them if they are to have any chance this Sunday. That 1-0 defeat at the Brandywell meant that it was the team from Dublin celebrating on the Brandywell pitch at the end of a night which had long een touted as a winner-take-all title game between City and Shels.

But a poor run of form - two wins in eleven league games mant it wasn't to be, and while the quick return to action is a help, the players are well aware of the scale of expectation, and criticism they and the manager have faced in recent weeks.

“I think it's really hard,” he acknowledged. “There's no players and there's no managers in this league immune from criticism. I think at times it's definitely gone too far.

"It's not like us and the manager and staff aren't doing everything we can to try and bring trophies home. It's not an easy thing to do.

“You look at the club before a lot of us were here and before the manager took over, it was a relegation battle. It's not just a case of he's come in and we're magically challenging for trophies. It's been a process. We're obviously up the right end of the table now.

"Yes, we were very disappointed to fall away a little bit towards the end. We were missing a lot of players as well. The other day we had four fit defenders. Coming into the business end of the season, it's very hard to be going in like that, which isn't an excuse of course.

"Obviously, it's not nice seeing anybody get criticism, especially someone who cares about the football club as much as he does. You'd do well to find someone who cares more.”

90 MINUTES AWAY… Brian Maher of Derry City poses for a portrait during the 2024 Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup Final media day at the Da Vinci's Hotel in Derry. (Photo: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile)

Meanwhile, Maher insists he will wait until after Sunday’s game before making any decision on his future.

The talented goalkeeper has had to deal with such speculation at the end of every season with Derry City and this coming close season seems to be no different.

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Rumours seem to have followed Maher more than other Derry City player in recent years, so by now it is something that he has almost become accustomed to.

“No, I'm not thinking about anything other than the cup final,” he said. “You can't take your focus from a cup final or you'll get stung. It'll all be looked at when the season's over.

I'll sit down and see what happens. But it’s a massive reason why I stayed. I wanted to win another trophy with this club and Sunday's a really good chance to do that.”