Top four the aim for City of Derry today

Carrickfergus vs. City of Derry

Today, 2:30pm

Things have been steadily improving at City of Derry in the last two months, but the players are hoping to make up for their only regret in that time away to Carrickfergus this afternoon.

Back In October, Derry, hoping for a third successive league win, fell just short on a 20-17 scoreline to Carrick at Judges Road, a performance and result that left Richard McCarter dismayed.

“It's funny how that one match can change your perception of things,” he reflected. “If we had won that we would have been motoring along quite well, but I almost think that defeat was a bit of a kick up the backside for us because we had that break, we came back and we seemed slightly rejuvenated. We definitely look as if we have a better attitude and hunger about us. Sometimes you do need breaks in these leagues, especially this season because the games are saturated and there’s not much time for yourself or time to reflect on things. You do need to make the most of any breaks but it definitely came at a good time for us.”

That blip aside, it has been fairly decent from City of Derry in recent weeks, and even the loss to Clogher Valley gave plenty of encouragement.

“We knew it would be tough going into it and I just asked them to work really hard for 80-odd minutes, try to be clinical and take their chances and we would see where they were at the end,” McCarter continued. “To be fair, we had to defend an awful lot of the time, but we were really committed and I think on another day, if we had put a wee bit more quality into it, we could have won. The overall feeling was disappointment that we lost the game but definitely happy with the effort.”

A brief break in a congested season has no doubt helped Derry, who can’t seem to go a week without picking up injuries.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had my strongest 15 out in the last three years,” McCarter said. “There’s always been somebody missing or somebody unavailable or somebody injured. That’s just part and parcel of it unfortunately and I’m sort of used to that at this stage. We do have guys of quality and we do have certain positions where there are plenty of options, so it’s just about trying to rotate and getting not necessarily the best players on the pitch, but the best players for the system we are trying to play.

“Since that break, we’ve come back and had a really good away victory against Enniskillen, and a decent performance last week. I never question our ability, but what I have questioned at times this season is our work rate and that real desire but I’ve seen that in abundance since we’ve come back so I’m hoping that if we can show that for 80 minutes, we do have enough quality that we will create opportunities. Hopefully now that can be a springboard for the next few weeks.”

Bridging the gap

Victory over Carrick today will help Derry bridge a current 10-point gap to fourth place, as well as get a bit of revenge for that day in October.

“Realistically, if we want to break into the top four, which is a goal we should be setting ourselves to try and achieve, we have to beat Carrick,” McCarter stated. “I think that we can win it, but we have to be a hell of a lot better than we were in the home fixture. We were just completely listless that day with no energy but if we can show the same energy and commitment that we have shown in the last few games, I think we’ll be in with a good shout.”