Derry City secured a hard-fought victory over Sligo Rovers on the opening night of the Premier Division season, with a late goal from Josh Thomas sealing the points for the Candystripes. The match at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium finished 2-1, a result that manager Tiernan Lynch acknowledged required significant effort from his team.
Alex Bannon had initially put Derry ahead, before Sligo Rovers responded to level the score. However, Thomas’s 90th-minute strike proved decisive, giving Derry City a winning start to their campaign. Lynch emphasized the resilience shown by his players in overcoming a determined Sligo side.
“It was a very dominant, probably last 10, 15 minutes of the first half, and that was a very dominant second half,” Lynch told RTÉ Sport. “We had to work very hard to try and to get our goals. We probably had another couple of half chances that we should have been better with, should have done better with. But we were expecting that.”
The victory marked the first time Derry City had won successive league games since last June, and the first under Lynch’s leadership, according to reports. Lynch opted to name an unchanged side from their President’s Cup win against Shamrock Rovers, a decision he believes highlights the importance of consistency as they aim to challenge for the league title.
“It’s going to be very hard to keep consistency in this team because there’s a big squad there. The big thing about the squad is all about trying to make sure that there’s a healthy competition for places,” Lynch explained. “There’s no egos in the team and we know that if we’re fortunate enough to achieve anything this year, it’ll be done collectively.”
Despite the positive start, Lynch was quick to downplay any talk of title aspirations, particularly with Shamrock Rovers’ opening game postponed due to a waterlogged pitch. He stressed a game-by-game approach, focusing solely on the three points earned against Sligo Rovers.
“We just got three points tonight. It was nothing more. It was nothing less,” he stated. “There’s plenty of talk from the media about what we’re going to do and where we’re going to go. We concentrate on one game at a time. Today, we found a way to win and we will dust ourselves off now the next couple of days.”
For Sligo Rovers, the defeat was a frustrating one, particularly after leading for a significant portion of the match. Manager John Russell expressed his disappointment at failing to capitalize on their strong first-half performance.
“I’m really disappointed not to come away with something, to be leading for so long, and I thought in the first half, we played really well,” Russell said. “The message at halftime was to be brave and keep passing the ball and try and get control of it. But unfortunately, we weren’t able to.”
Russell’s plans were disrupted by issues securing a visa for new arrival Maï Traoré, forcing him to reshuffle his team. The absence of Traoré, a player Russell believes could have provided a valuable outlet, was keenly felt.
“We didn’t really have an outlet. Cian had to come out, then we had to get Jad out later on and, you know, you’re shuffling the pack. We needed an outlet tonight, unfortunately we didn’t need to have that,” Russell explained. “He [Traoré] is with us three weeks and we are still just waiting on that visa to be sorted. I’ve been told it’s going to be done for the Bohs game. But if I had him tonight, it’s another body and a quality player. We still had enough quality on the pitch to get something tonight. It was just hugely disappointing then not to be able to hold on to at least a point.”
The match saw Jad Hakiki get on the scoresheet for Sligo Rovers, but ultimately it wasn’t enough to secure a point. According to Sofascore, Derry City currently sits in 2nd place in the Premier Division standings, while Sligo Rovers occupies 8th position. The result leaves Derry City within three points of the league leaders, a position they achieved previously after a win against Sligo Rovers in , as reported by the Irish Times.
The game also drew the attention of Ireland boss Heimir Hallgrimsson, who was present at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. While the impact of his presence on player performances remains speculative, it adds another layer of interest to the early stages of the Premier Division season.
Derry City’s victory sets a positive tone for their season, but Lynch remains grounded, emphasizing the collective effort required to achieve success. Sligo Rovers, meanwhile, will look to address their visa issues and build on their promising first-half display as they aim to climb the Premier Division table.
