Derry City closing in on FAI Cup Century

Derry City can complete a century of FAI Cup victories if they reach the semi-final stages of the competition this season.

Counting replay victories and penalty shoot-out wins, the Candystripes are just three wins away from the 100, in a competition that has brought some lifelong memories, from ecstasy to heartbreak and endless drama in between.

Tiernan Lynch takes his team to First Division Treaty United tomorrow night for his first experience of a competition that has stolen the hearts of City fans since their first experience of it 39 years ago.

Back on February 2, 1986, Derry City hammered the Garda 5-0 at the Brandywell to mark an emphatic FAI Cup debut, with Kevin O’Neill, Owen Da Gama, Stuart Gauld, Kevin Mahon and Brendan Bradley all scoring. That was followed by a 3-0 win over Finn Harps at the Brandywell, but the club’s first FAI Cup campaign was ended with a 1-0 defeat at Cork City, when famously, 8000 Derry fans made the long trip south.

Since then, 12 FAI Cup finals have followed over the years, six successes in 1989, 1995, 2002, 2006, 2012 and 2022 and six losses in 1988, 1994, 1997, 2008, 2014 and 2024.

Owen Da Gama against Dundalk in the 1988 final.

Another milestone within arm’s reach this season is the 300th goal in the competition. As it stands, Derry City have 296 goals in the competition, courtesy of 104 different goals scorers over almost four decades.

The club’s top scorer in the competition remains Rory Patterson on 16 goals, just one ahead of club legends Liam Coyle and Mark Farren, both on 15 goals each. Patterson also has the unique record of being the only player in Derry City history to score two hat tricks in the FAI Cup, away at Blarney in 2013, and home to Drogheda United in the 2014 quarterfinal replay.

There have been only nine Derry City hat tricks in FAI Cup history: Owen Da Gama vs. Shelbourne in 1987, Alex Krstic vs. Cork City in 1987, Johnathan Speak vs. Bohemians in 1988, Sean Hargan vs. Rockmount in 1998, Aaron Nash vs. Ballymun United in 2009, Mark Farren vs. Mervue United in 2012, Patterson vs. Blarney and Drogheda, with the most recent coming from Declan Glass on his Derry City against Oliver Bond in 2022.

Arguably the most famous of these hat tricks came from Mark Farren in 2012, when he scored three goals in just a matter of minutes to overtake Liam Coyle’s long-standing record of 112 goals to become the club’s top scorer in League of Ireland history, a record which may never be broken.

John Coady celebrates the win over Cork City in 1989.

The largest ever win in an FAI Cup game was Dundalk’s 11-0 win over Athlone in the 2020 semi-finals, in which current City player Michael Duffy scored twice, and current City coach Patrick McEleney scored once and provided five assists. Derry City also hit double figures in the competition once, when they won 12-2 at Blarney in 2018. Scottish striker Ally Roy scored four goals that day, becoming the only City player in FAI Cup history to manage such a feat.

Penalty shoot-outs have not been favourable to the Candystripes in the competition in recent years. Including the Covid-affected 2020 season, Derry City have been involved in three shoot-outs in the past five campaigns, winning just once. They also famously lost the 2008 Cup final to Bohemians at the RDS after a trilling 2-2 draw.

That dark day at the RDS was actually the first time that City suffered a shoot-out in the competition, after beating St. Patrick’s Athletic in April, 1990, Shelbourne in August, 2004 and Cork City in September, 2008.

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Derry City will start as strong favourites tomorrow night, but they have not been immune to cup upsets over the years, most famously losing to Ashtown Villa in 1991. They were also thrashed by First Division Wexford in 2011 and held to a 0-0 draw with non-league Bluebell just two years later. Tomorrow night’s tie will be Derry City’s 163rd FAI Cup game, the first of a campaign they hope will end with a third cup final appearance in four years.