Sadou Diallo relishing massive double header at the Brandywell this weekend

Derry City vs. St. Patrick’s Athletic

Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium

Friday, 7:45pm

Sadou Diallo is relishing a massive weekend at the Brandywell, insisting there is no better way to respond to recent home defeats than by facing both St. Patrick’s Athletic and Shamrock Rovers.

The Candystripes have managed just one win in five games at home so far, which is in stark contrast to an away record which boasts four wins and two draws in six games.

Successive defeats against Drogheda United and Bohemians at the Brandywell earlier this month put a huge dent in City’s otherwise fine start to the season, with pressure on the players to improve performances and results in front of their own fans.

With St. Pat’s visiting tomorrow night and Shamrock Rovers on Monday night, City’s home form will be under even more scrutiny, but Diallo is excited by the challenges ahead.

“That’s football, isn’t it? These things happen,” he said. “For me, home and away doesn’t really have an effect on me. It’s just a game of football, it’s you versus them. We weren’t good enough in the last games but we’re determined to put that right over the next few home games.

“They are two big games and these are the kind of games you need to be playing in, especially after the two bad results at home. What better games to bounce back in than against these two teams. Hopefully we can get the results, put a marker down and go on a run from there.”

Diallo missed the first two games of the season due to suspension, but has featured in every game since. He has been a key member of Ruaidhri Higgins’ midfield since last season, but he still feels he has a lot more to offer.

“The first few games I had to serve a suspension which was frustrating, but I just had to be patient and bide my time and once I did get back it was good,” he said. “I think it has been alright so far. I still think there’s more to come from me individually and as a collective, as a team. But apart from those two home results, I think it’s been alright.”

Diallo joined the Candystripes last July and has since gone on to make 27 appearances in all competitions. His first League of Ireland experience has really opened his eyes to a standard of football he didn’t expect.

“I’m not going to lie, I didn’t know what to expect when I came over, but when I did get here, I was surprised,” he admitted. “I remember telling my friends and my agent that it was actually very good. Obviously, people over in England might talk down about the league over here but once you’re here and you experience it, you watch it and you’re playing in it, you realise how good the league actually is. There are good players in this league as well.”

‘Exciting’

Derry City got only their second league win in seven games when they defeated Cork City at Turner’s Cross last week, with Ronan Boyce, Michael Duffy and Colm Whelan all getting their first goals of the season. That performance and win was so important given the upcoming games according to Diallo. 

“We needed that performance after the back-to-back home results and the point away at Dundalk,” he acknowledged. “It was good to get the three points and the three lads getting the goals just shows that we have got goals coming from everywhere really, and we still have players to come back from injury as well. It was good for Collie to get his goal, especially after missing a year through injury, so that was exciting.”

This weekend could well be a defining point in the season for many teams, and a good return for Derry City would boost their title chances significantly. St. Pat’s have proved to be stubborn however, overcoming a poor early season to hit back with some big results.

“From top to bottom there’s not much in it, even though it’s early days still,” Diallo stated. “A team can go on a run and jump a few places in the table so you just have to be ready for every game because every game has its own challenges. You can’t look down on any team. You have to go in fully focused and determined to get the three points.”