Derry City Breeze Past Galway United to Book their Spot in the FAI Cup Final
FT | FAI Cup Semi Final | 10 Oct
Galway United FC 0:2 Derry City
Derry City secured a comfortable 2-0 win over Galway United FC last Saturday afternoon in Éamonn Deacy Park, booking themselves a spot in the FAI Cup Final. Derry will face Waterford FC in next month’s title decider at Lansdowne Road following their 2-0 defeat of championship contenders Bohemians FC away in Dalymount park on Friday night.
Despite the apparent ease in which Derry was able to cut through the home sides defence, the game got off to a relatively slow start with both sides having no real chance for the first 20 minutes. Then came a series of nervy moments for the Tribesmen who were forced to defend a flurry of dangerous corners from the visitors. Eventually John Caulfield’s men were able to get the ball out of their own half. 24 minutes in, calls for a penalty came from the maroon army as United’s Jimmy Keohane went down in the box. Referee Paul Norton paid no attention to the pleas.
The first goal of the game came in minute 26 when Derry’s Michael Duffy rattled the net to put his side ahead. Just after the half hour mark, Tom Norcott put a strong hand to a dangerous shot from Keohane, the first real test for the English keeper in the match. The last kick of the first half saw Duffy bag his second goal in the 45+1 minute to give the Candystripes a comfortable 2-0 lead heading into half time.
Francely Lomboto and Edward McCarthy entered the pitch as Kris Twardek and Connor Barratt made way at the beginning of the second half. Caulfield’s substitutions indicated a clear need for more energy and passion to be injected into the game. Galway local Lomboto did just that when he swiftly found himself on a through ball and forced Norcott to make a good save.
The boys in maroon looked a better side and created much more chances in the second half. An 80th minute skied ball from Pierrott just in front of the Derry goals may have changed the fate of United. Ultimately too many missed chances culminated in nothing to show for all their labour. Duffy’s brace in the first 45 was inevitably too much of a deficit for United to make up. The away end erupted in cheers and flairs upon the final whistle as a deflated block F of the Comer stand stayed back to applaud the effort of the home side.
Derry’s interim head coach Mark Connolly will not have it easy in the Aviva stadium on 8 November when his side face Waterford FC in the FAI Cup Final. The former professional footballer hung up his boots just last season and only took the reins at a turbulent Derry City in August following the departure of Tiernan Lynch. He has battled the teams patchy form and has dealt with a very public fallout between former Irish international James McClean and the club.
Derry have won the FAI Cup a whopping six times to Waterford’s zero. However, the blues are no underdogs in this fixture and if their performance against 3rd place Bohemians is anything to go off, this cup still has a few twists left in it.
Galway United: Hugo da Cunha; Connor Barratt (Ed McCarthy 46), Anthony O’Connor (Mattie Wolfe 73), Wasiri Williams, Gianfranco Facchineri; Jimmy Keohane (Dylan Connolly 89), David Hurley, Aaron Bolger, Lee Devitt; Stephen Walsh, Kris Twardek (Francely Lomboto 46).
Derry City: Thomas Norcott; Cameron Dummigan, Jamie Stott, Patrick McClean, Brandon Fleming; Darragh Burns (James Olayinka 78, Tyler Smith 90), Adam O’Reilly, Ellis Chapman, Michael Duffy; James Clarke (Conor Barr 89).
Referee: Paul Norton.
By Hannah Stack
