League of Ireland legend backs Brian Maher to succeed at Derry City

Brian Maher can fulfil his potential as one of the best young goalkeepers in Ireland with the help of his Derry City team mates next season and beyond.

That is the verdict of someone who knows full well the pressures of playing for Derry City and at the top end of the League of Ireland over the last 15 years. Peter Cherrie, who played 58 times for the Candystripes over two seasons in 2019 and 2020, is a huge admirer of Maher, who has just finished an impressive first season at the Brandywell, a campaign which ended with 18 clean sheets and an FAI Cup victory.

Cherrie has vast League of Ireland experience having played for Dundalk, Derry, Bray Wanderers and Cork City and knows full well what is required to be a success in the game at that level. Having watched Maher on several occasions throughout the 2022 season, he believes the 22-year-old can go as far as he wants in the next few years.

“I like to keep an eye on young goalkeepers just to see who’s coming through,” he said. “I know Brian Maher because when he was with Bray, I would have been down training there and I was training with him for a little while just before pre-season. I knew he was good then and then when you see him in the international set up and he just seems to excel. Obviously, he’s also flying for Derry which is fantastic so he’s obviously putting the work in.”

Maher has had quite a season with Derry, but also with the Republic of Ireland U21s, just missing out on qualifying for the European Championships due to a penalty shoot-out defeat to Israel. The past year has been filled with huge occasions and huge games for the young goalkeeper, and Cherrie believes he will only get better because of the experience.  

“Going to Derry is a massive pressure, especially for someone so young, but at the end of the day he has an experienced squad there,” he continued. “The likes of Mark Connolly going in there to help him and he has Patrick McEleney and Michael Duffy also which will be a great help.

“If you’re a confident guy, you won’t let it faze you, or you won’t show that it fazes you. You will be nervous because the last thing you want to do is make a mistake or anything like that because, with the likes of Brian, you’re in at international level and you’re going well. But at club level it’s different and there’s a different pressure on you and to be fair to him, he has stood up to that.

“As long as he keeps his head down and keep working away and keep doing what he’s doing and don’t differ from that. Don’t be listening to any outside noise, just keep doing what he’s doing and keep working hard and he’ll have a great future ahead of him.”

Interesting dynamic

Next season’s title race will have an interesting dynamic, with Derry City and Shamrock Rovers having number ones at different ends of their careers. Maher, who was also named on the PFA Ireland Premier Division Team of the Year, has just turned 22, while Mannus is now 40, while Cherrie, 39, and Dundalk, will also hope to have a say at the top of the table.

“I can only speak for the Dundalk situation because we have Nathan (Sheppard) and Nathan is flying and I can’t be any prouder of him,” Cherrie explained.

“I’d like to think I have been a little bit of help in that, be it just giving him advice of what to do in certain situations, and I’m sure that Alan is doing the same at Shamrock Rovers, but maybe it could help Derry. I don’t think it will be a loss. You got to have someone with experience to be able to bounce off and he has that at Derry.”