'Derry City played like Wolves' - Here's your chance to WIN the new Derry City away shirt"

Derry City will wear black and gold for the first time in 60 years next season and the Derry News is giving you the chance to win the brand new shirt in time for Christmas!

The club’s brand-new away kit will see the Candystripes wear the colours the club last wore between 1956-62, a year memorable for the senior debut of one Jobby Crossan. According to Frank Curran's book 'The Derry City Story', Eddie Crossan’s younger brother John ‘Jobby’ Crossan arrived on the scene with a bang that year ahead of a momentous and memorable career in the game.

Of his display at Coleraine in the first league match on Saturday, October 13, the Derry Journal report stated: “Crossan did enough to have settled the game in his side’s favour in the first half. He set up three sitters, all missed, and was far and away the classiest player on the pitch”. Coleraine won the game 2-1.

Derry City’s Merchandise Committee, which has brought in a significant sum of money to the club over the past few years, have been working hard on the new design, which is a throwback to the time when City played in colours reminiscent of the famous colours worn by English side Wolverhampton Wanderers.

The first time Derry City appeared in the unusual colours was when they hammered Coleraine 8-2 in the second Ulster Cup match at Brandywell on Tuesday, August 21, 1956.

Team management committee man Dr. Desmond Sidebottom said afterwards: City played like Wolves’. He said this, referring to the fact that Derry had changed colours for the game, to Wolverhampton Wanderers’ amber and gold. A hat trick each from Nash and McBride, as well as two from Innes, competed the rout.

The club have adopted a whole range of colours for away shirts since entering the League of Ireland, but this will be the first time they have or gold and black in 37-years since entering their new home.

“We approached it from the point of view that we wanted to go back in time and do something different,” Joe Doherty from the Derry City Merchandise Group explained. “The club has a long history in both the Irish League and the League of Ireland and we thought it would be a good idea to bring the colours back in honour of our history but also with an eye on an exciting future. For the first time we have gone for a silicon crest on the shirts and, after all the sponsors came on board with the new look, we went full steam ahead. The initial impressions have been vey good and the shirts have been flying out the door in the first few days already.”

While the gold and black shirts have definitely caught the eye, fans seem particularly impressed with the new all-black goalkeeper shirt.

“The interest in the goalkeeper shirt in particular has been really apparent,” Doherty continued. “Usually, the outfield shirts get all the attention, but the black shirt with the gold crest is really catching the eye and fans are now buying goalkeeper shirts for the first time.

“Coming up to Christmas, we understand that fans will want to get their hands on thew latest merchandise as quickly as possible, and we would urge everyone to keep an eye on the club website and all our social media platforms for information on when the club shop will be open this week and next.”

Competition 

To be in with a chance of winning the new away shirt, just answer the following question and email your answer, along with your name and phone number to gary@derrynews.net

Which famous Derry footballer made his debut for Derry City in 1956/57, the same season the club first wore the gold and black kit?

The competition closes on Monday, December 12.