On Saturday night at The Showgrounds, Sligo Rovers and Derry City drew 0-0, with John Russell once again looking on the bright side.
Although there wasn’t much entertainment value to the game, Russell had a lot to be happy about.
Russell was happy with his defense’s performance last year, considering it was exceedingly tough for his team to keep a clean sheet against the strength of Patrick Hoban and his Derry teammates.
However, there weren’t many opportunities to keep the crowd amused, even with over 4,000 people pouring through the turnstiles to watch.
After the event, he said, “Probably a fair result, it wasn’t a great spectacle.”
“With this large of an audience, you want to start moving quickly. We did, in my opinion, get off to a strong start in the first half, and by the break, we had just barely edged it.
“However, there weren’t many or any big opportunities in the second half of the game, and Derry used up all of the bench, so until the final five to ten minutes, we were under siege.
“But altogether, it wasn’t a spectacular spectacle but certainly a fair outcome. Ed handled all of the crosses and set plays that came into the box extremely well, in my opinion.
For the most part of the match, neither goalkeeper—Ed McGinty nor Brian Maher—was called upon to make saves.
Russell also thought that Rovers were dangerous in the build-up, despite the fact that they weren’t getting enough opportunities to test Maher.
“In my opinion, neither keeper had a particularly heavy workload. During the first half, I thought our build-up and transitions looked really dangerous, especially with Fabrice Hartmann and Simon Power on the wings with JR making fantastic overlap runs while Reece was joining in.
“Although we weren’t quite hitting the final goal, we were looking excellent and dangerous without actually endangering the keeper.” It was satisfying that the pitch broke up during the game, considering how early in the season it was.
“Those players in the last third need to expose a team like Derry with just one touch; otherwise, it will keep coming up and you will have to retreat. It may cause some frustration.
The Rovers defenders was singled out for praise, but the Bit O’Red coach was also extremely happy with Russell’s team’s entire performance that evening.
The Rovers defenders was singled out for praise, but the Bit O’Red coach was also extremely happy with Russell’s team’s entire performance that evening.
It’s a blank slate. It’s a foundational element. Ollie Denham and Nando’s performances dealt with Patrick Hoban rather well throughout the evening. JR and Reece defeated Duffy and McMullan in their one-on-one matches.
“These actually pose a threat to assault. Ed handled everything with authority and skill, even when faced with obstacles. Starting with Max, the entire team had a solid structure and form.
“Playing in front of a large crowd at home, all the fans want is 100%, so make sure you leave everything on the pitch,” I told the boys before the game, and they did just that.
“We want to win games. We almost won last week against the Bohemians.
“Tonight, we wanted to win three points. We know we’re playing a great team, but we also have some really talented players.” Though it’s disappointing not to win, we’ll accept the draw and go on.
Daniel Kelly had an opportunity to score the game-winning goal in the 88th minute, but McGinty made a fantastic stop to save it.
This season, the Oxford loanee has been a tremendous asset to Rovers, and Russell feels he is still developing his confidence after missing a lot of games over the previous 18 months.
He’s the best keeper in the nation, in my opinion. So happy to have him back. He needs to build himself up, play games again, and acquire confidence. Tonight will be a positive beginning in that direction.
Shelbourne, who defeated Shamrock Rovers, the league champions, on Friday night, will visit The Showgrounds on Friday.
The Bit O’Red will put themselves to the test, and Russell is hoping for a sizable turnout before they head to Dundalk on Monday.
We’ll start by worrying about Shelbourne because they’ve had a strong season thus far and are a solid team. We’re excited to see them to Sligo and are hoping for another large turnout. These are two difficult games.
