Candystripes host Dundalk In Brandywell league send-off
With fourth place still mathematically in sight, the Candystripes welcome struggling Dundalk for their final home league fixture.
The Candystripes will play their final home game and penultimate fixture of the 2026 SSE Airtricity League Premier Division campaign when they welcome Dundalk to the Ryan McBride Brandywell on Friday evening.
With just two games remaining in the league season, Derry City FC’s campaign will not ultimately be defined by their final league position. Instead, attention is firmly fixed on the winner-takes-all Club Orange FAI Cup final against Waterford on November 8, with the victors not only lifting the trophy but also securing a coveted UEFA Europa League qualifying berth for next summer.
Interim boss Mark Connolly will be conscious of managing his squad over the coming two games with the cup final in mind. Getting minutes into players’ legs, avoiding injuries to key personnel and maintaining the form and confidence his charges have built since he took the helm in early August will all be priorities for the former Derry skipper.
The Clones native has overseen a remarkable upturn in fortunes following the end of Tiernan Lynch’s tenure, with the Candystripes winning seven of their last 11 games. Their only defeats during that run have come against Bohemians and Drogheda United.
Derry returned to winning ways on Monday evening after suffering a 2-0 defeat to relegation-threatened Drogheda on Boyneside three days earlier. A Kevin dos Santos goal proved the difference against St Patrick’s Athletic, but perhaps most encouraging was the Derry backline’s ability to soak up sustained pressure, with Patrick McClean particularly impressive.
Connolly will be hoping to carry that form into Friday’s fixture and beyond, as he looks to finish as high as possible in the league table. Fourth-placed Shelbourne remain within Derry’s sights, providing an additional incentive as the season approaches its conclusion.
Similarly, Ciarán Kilduff’s Dundalk will be eager to end their campaign on a high and secure a fourth-place finish after emerging from the First Division as champions last season. For long spells, it appeared the Lilywhites had that position firmly in their grasp, but a recent collapse in form, which has left them winless since August, has seen the Louth men slip to sixth, four points behind Shelbourne.
Dundalk will be hoping to turn their fortunes around in their final two fixtures, although they face a difficult task against Derry and title-chasing Shamrock Rovers. Across the four meetings between the sides this season, comprising three league encounters and last month’s FAI Cup quarter-final, the record stands at one win apiece and two draws.
The most recent cup meeting saw the Candystripes show their class to ease past the Oriel Park men to reach the semi-finals. A brace from Michael Duffy and an early equaliser from Patrick McClean helped propel the Foylesiders into the last four.
Crucial to Kilduff’s hopes on Friday will be the form of former Republic of Ireland international Daryl Horgan, who has been a consistent bright spark in the Lilywhites camp this season. Twenty-two-year-old Cahersiveen native Ronan Teahan has also impressed during his first campaign in the Premier Division. The only expected absentees for Dundalk are John Wilson, who has missed the previous two matchday squads, and former Candystripe Danny Mullen, who has been out of action since June with a muscle injury.
In the opposing dugout, Connolly is likely to continue rotating his squad carefully, while looking to get further minutes into the likes of Darragh Markey, Conor Barr and Gavin Whyte, alongside several emerging players who have stepped up from the academy ranks this season. James McClean, who once again made headlines this week, is almost certain to remain uninvolved, while Carl Winchester is also working his way back to full fitness.
Friday’s encounter may effectively be a dead rubber between two sides whose league campaigns are all but over, but there should be no shortage of motivation. With former competitors Connolly and Kilduff facing off in the dugout, fourth place remains within reach of both clubs. Although a hollow victory this season, with European qualification being decided elsewhere, both sides will be keen to close out their league campaigns as strongly as possible.