Title Race Setback for Derry City After Draw with Dundalk
Derry City 1 Dundalk 1
Derry City’s title ambitions took a hit as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Dundalk at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium. Despite a late flurry of chances, the Candystripes couldn’t secure the win, leaving them two points adrift of leaders Shelbourne, who have also played two games fewer.
The home side’s performance was lackluster for significant portions of the match, and although substitute Daniel Mullen came close to securing a last-minute victory, Derry’s efforts fell short.
Dundalk, struggling against relegation, took the lead through John Mountney’s header in the 22nd minute. Daryl Horgan’s corner from the left found Mountney at the near post, and his glancing header nestled into the bottom right-hand corner of Brian Maher’s net.
Derry City had a chance to go ahead early in the game, but Michael Duffy’s header from Ben Doherty’s cross went over the bar. Dundalk almost doubled their lead in the 34th minute when Jamie Gullan’s close-range effort was thwarted by Maher. They missed another golden opportunity just before the break when Robbie Benson’s shot went over the bar following a well-placed pass from Horgan.
At halftime, Ruaidhrí Higgins made two substitutions with Jacob Davenport and Daniel Mullen replacing Daniel Kelly and Adam O’Reilly. The changes paid off as Mullen equalized in the 64th minute. Davenport’s pass found Mullen on the edge of the box, and his curling left-footed strike beat Dundalk’s goalkeeper Felix Goddard to level the score.
Derry had several chances to snatch a winner. Mullen, having gotten behind Dundalk’s defense, was denied by a vital save from Goddard. Mullen had an even better chance in the 86th minute but his lob over the stranded goalkeeper hit the top of the net.
In the dying moments of the match, Derry had one last opportunity when Will Patching’s free kick found Pat Hoban at the back post, but his header was comfortably saved by Goddard.
Derry City: Brian Maher; Cameron Dummigan, Mark Connolly, Ciaran Coll, Ben Doherty (Colm Whelan 82); Adam O’Reilly (Jacob Davenport HT), Will Patching, Paul McMullan; Daniel Kelly (Daniel Mullen HT), Pat Hoban, Michael Duffy
Dundalk: Felix Goddard; Daniel Pike, Andy Boyle, Hayden Cann, Sean Keogh (Koen Oostenbrink 70); John Mountney, Robbie Benson (Scott McGill HT), Aodh Dervin; Darryl Horgan, Jamie Gullan (Eoin Kenny 81), Robert Mahon (Ryan O’Kane 63)
Referee: Robert Harvey (Dublin)
With this draw, Derry City’s path to the title becomes more challenging, and they will need to bounce back quickly to stay in contention. Dundalk, meanwhile, will be pleased with their resilience as they continue their fight against relegation.
