Cork City v Derry City Match Thread

[brandyball]

Match sparked a bit after the O'Reilly yellow.

Whelan did well for his goal. Duffy scored one and set up one. Two good saves by Maher. Second half was better than first.

When the other midfielders come back like McEleney and Dummigan, I wouldn't start O'Neill.

Great three points and the away record continues. Next two games at home though.

Tough ones too.

[Neutrino]

1-0 up but that's an absolutely horrendous performance. Can't put a string of passes together. Can't move midfield at all. Bring Patching on for sideways Diallo

We were poor in the 1st half, but a lot better in the 2nd.

Midfield still lacking punch and attacking mindset. Diallo is killing the momentum every time he gets the ball, and Patching would be no better. We need Fats in there, and playing further up. Or McEneff.

Whelan looked sharp when he came on, great to see him score in his debut.

But make no mistake, that's a terrible Cork team.

Thought Diallo had a good game tonight after a few shaky performances

[brandyball]

The Manager's view

https://audioboom.com/posts/8285755-a-r ... ri-higgins

[paul60]

people see Diallo in differing ways. For me he has a bit of class that stirs a footballing interest to a fair number of supporters.
We all have favourites and that can change but for now He has my backing.
Doherty was worth MOTM, others may see someone else in that category but that’s their opinion.
Derry may win the league - next year is the more likely when a consistency comes through from the quality of the players we have.

[brandyball]

Highlights

https://youtu.be/22oY9Oxtlho

[mokendismucker]

We got a glimpse of Whelan’s finishing and pace. Looks tasty. Without Fats or Patching we were a bit more direct and actually created more chances. Seemed to move the ball quicker after a slow start. Probably the right tactic on the night but I think playing them both from the start may get a rest for a while. Duffy looked good and if Kavanagh had been on the same wave length we would have been out of sight earlier. The Duffy Whelan Graydon front 3 is an exciting prospect. Can’t see big Kavanagh as anything other than an impact player. Maher will be disappointed to be beaten at his near post so easily but overall 3 points in the bag, the winless run ended, Whelan and Duffy on the score sheet, still ahead of shams, and more of our wounded getting back.

Just the Brandywell thing to sort now. Sure what would you do without it? Uppacity……….

[Nige92]

That performance doesn't give me encouragement going forward at all. The only difference between that and the number of draws/loses (baring Dundalk) is that we went ahead. First half was really poor, couldn't string passes together (on a bumpy grass pitch), the only outlet seemed to be McEleney switching it out to Doherty.

We bypassed midfield most of the time with long balls. Diallo is a frustrating figure to me. Rarely drives with the ball or plays a incisive / line breaking pass, mostly going backwards and sideways. Dee said it previously, Fats makes this team tick even if he has to play deeper.

Forwards were barely given the platform to create sustained attacks because most balls were knocked long. No harm to Kavanagh but he shouldn't be starting for us. Apart from being big I don't see what he brings. He usually gets knocked off that ball, often has a poor first touch, passes are inaccurate and he's not beating anyone for pace.

Whelan's goal showed a glimpse of what I hope he can offer consistently. Dropped into midfield, dragged a CB out, his first touch across his body took that CB out of the picture, then runs at a man, beats him and plays a beautiful slide pass to set Graydon away into space. Finally gets on the end of it with a nice finish.

Another poor performance, this time we got a result

[Marty]

On a plus side, things weren't working, and Higgins tired something new.

On that evidence, that formation needs a lot of work. I thought up until goal 2, that was the worst we've been all season. No pattern of play to build from the back, missing fats big time. Kavanagh is a midtable first-division player so he couldn't hold the ball up.

Duffy the difference, has he normally is no matter what team he plays for. Thought in general, he wasn't great, we couldn't get him the ball so it's not his fault, but it's his first start, and he's got moments of quality in his locker. Boyce is such a threat at set plays, he has to start for me. Personally, I didn't think he looked that comfortable in a back three, but it was new to everyone.


Watching Whelan, it was hard not to be excited, the game was opened up, so it was a little easier, but by god really got the blood flowing.

Big game for the Fats in midfield question, it was clear how much we missed him. If Higgins can find a system to get Whelan, Jamie and Duffy linking up, I have a lot of hope for the season.

Nice saves from Maher, especially from the header.

Not a great performance, but Duffy and Whelan are back, and thats very exciting.

[YorbaLinda]

Great 3 points and another excellent performance from Ben Doherty, can’t believe the deference in his play since he came back. Diallo is such a frustrating player, bags of skill but can be very lackadaisical on and off the ball and we have seen it cost us goals this season. Will be a good player for us if we can get him out of 2nd gear. Our defence has been good all season and tonight when called on Maher showed what a great keeper he is. Let’s hope we can get a few consecutive wins.

[rodgers]

There were still a couple of instances where we tried our usual tactic of passing the ball back to Maher from an attacking position but I think one big difference from before is that in the second half we actually tried to score a second goal. A novel approach but it paid off.

I'd like to have seen B Kavanagh in place of O'Neill maybe. If he won't play McEleney further forward I think Kavanagh has the ability to play people in.