“We’ll take this on the chin and move on” - Derry manager Lynch

Tiernan Lynch’s Derry City side will head into the international break with frustration as the overriding emotion.

The Belfast native has come under heavy criticism following a dire start to a campaign that seemed full of promise, with twelve new signings arriving on Foyleside during the off-season.

Expectations were high, but results have so far failed to match the optimism surrounding the squad.

Friday evening’s 2-2 draw with fellow European hopefuls Drogheda United proved particularly disappointing, given the manner of the collapse. Loud boos greeted the final whistle at the Ryan McBride Brandywell, reflecting the discontent after another frustrating performance during a difficult opening round of fixtures.

Derry have played six of their opening eight league games at home but have only nine points to show for it. Their home record includes last-minute victories over relegation candidates Sligo Rovers and Waterford United, as well as a draw against newly promoted Dundalk. Last Monday’s goalless draw with in-form St Patrick’s Athletic offered hope that defensive woes had been addressed, but Friday’s collapse against Drogheda did little to reassure supporters.

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What made the result particularly tough to stomach was the manner in which it came about. Derry controlled large portions of the game against a Drogheda side that has also struggled for form this season, finding the net twice early in each half to establish a commanding 2-0 lead by the forty-sixth minute. Yet, two goals in three minutes saw Drogheda claw back a point, with Derry’s shaky defence once again exposed.

“It should have been over. It was such a good performance from us from minute one. I thought we really looked like ourselves. It was probably our best performance of the year, and we were really on the front foot.

“We caused them a lot of problems and then got our goal and took our foot off the gas,” Lynch said.

“We were probably in cruise control, but I can’t describe what happened with those two goals. We were very much in control of the game, and then we had a couple of minutes of madness, didn’t defend properly, and we got punished.”

Derry’s inability to secure their defence has been a major factor in their disappointing start. The Foylesiders currently have the joint second-worst defensive record in the league, having conceded eleven goals in just nine games.

While Lynch has repeatedly called for patience as his new-look side gels, frustration among supporters is growing as the quarter-point of the season passes without a consistent run of form.

Meanwhile, the international break gives the Candystripes a chance to regroup, but the next stretch of fixtures will be a stern test. A series of tough away games awaits, culminating in a home clash against reigning double champions Shamrock Rovers in five weeks’ time.

The Foylesiders will need to shore up at the back and start turning promising performances into results if they are to revive their season and satisfy the increasingly restless supporters.

“It’s no secret that our Achilles’ heel this season has been conceding really poor goals. Goals are what change games, and we were well on top, but the two goals we conceded just put us on the back foot again,” Lynch admitted.

“As I keep saying, we’re in this together, and there’s no point in throwing people under the bus. We just didn’t defend those two situations well enough and got punished for it. There’s probably a lack of confidence within the team because we’re conceding so many goals.”

“We’ll take this on the chin and move on. We are where we are; we've 12 new players. It’s always going to take some time. We know that we have many things we need to get better at.

“If we can stop conceding goals, we’ll give ourselves a much better chance of winning games, and that’s what we need to do.”