Close enough to touch
And the big question: who will land the knockout blow?
It’s one of the oldest clichés in football: the league, they say, is a marathon not a sprint. But this year’s title-race has managed to combine both. After a long, hard, often thrilling and never less than fascinating battle, the whole thing comes down tonight to a 90 minute dash for the line at Turner’s Cross.
It’s a tale of two cities: Cork versus Derry. And it’s the best of both worlds: a cup tie to decide a league. It simply doesn’t get any better - or more nail-biting - than this.
One thing that hasn’t changed is that the league table never lies, and so it’s fitting that the two best teams this year will contest tonight’s all or nothing shoot-out. The only surprise is that it’s Derry City, not Shelbourne, who find themselves with everything to play for on judgement night.
Not that Derry don’t deserve it but, certainly, their involvement in a game like this would have seemed highly unlikely at the start of the season, when Shelbourne, coming on like Shelski, were hoovering up the talent, universally tipped for three-in-row and looking to improve on last year’s giddy European adventure.
It didn’t happen: the new-look side took time to gel, defensive injuries hit early and hard and, by the time Pat Fenlon’s men found their rhythm, not even Jason Byrne’s explosive scoring form was enough to help them close the gap on the top two.
Meantime, last year’s runners-up Cork City showed the way, chased all the while by a Derry side which, in their penultimate game of the season, gained the 2-0 win over St Pats - the day after Cork were held scoreless by Shels - which now gives the Foylesiders a one-point advantage going into the decisive game.
The game is a must-win for Cork; a draw will do Derry. Either way, the stark circumstances mean that defeat, never easy, will be exceptionally hard to take for the side which, having fought so long to get so close, finds the glittering prize snatched away at the death. In an obvious sense, it’s a cruel way to decide a campaign -almost the equivalent of a penalty shoot-out to decide a cup tie - but come 7.45 at a throbbing Turner’s Cross, nobody inside the ground or watching on tv will be complaining. Gobbling fistfuls of tranquillisers,perhaps, but not complaining.
Given the glory that’s at stake, you can understand why this week Derry striker Gary Beckett could say that defeat tonight would make “the whole season end up feeling mediocre.” In an emotional sense that is undeniable but, judged by objective criteria, Derry’s season can already be judged a success, given their unexpected transformation from league strugglers to title contenders under the inspirational stewardship of Stephen Kenny.
UEFA Cup and Setanta Cup action is already secured and a win tonight would seal Kenny’s already weighty claims for manager of the season. Bringing discipline, drive and real self-belief to the Brandywell, he has extracted the best from a team which deserves more glowing reviews than the usual damning-with-faint-praise accolade that they’re “well organised.”
It’s hard to imagine a team contesting the title which wouldn’t possess that basic attribute but - as Cork City learned when they were blown away 3-1 in the Brandywell - the Candystripes are also a fine, footballing side, well capable of stringing the passes together and creating chances for lethal front man Mark Farren.
Sure, Derry are strong on power and physique, driven by solid competitors like Peter Hutton and Clive Delaney at the back and the all-action Ciaran Martyn in midfield, but it also speaks volumes for the side’s commitment to creativity that Stephen Kenny can accommodate - at least some of the time - the dazzling, if mercurial, talents of Pat McCourt.
McCourt is one of an elite group of eircom League players - George O’Callaghan at Cork at Wes Hoolahan at Shels are two others - of whom it is hardly an exaggeration to say that their presence on the pitch is worth the price of admission alone.
Hardly a 90 minute all-rounder, he functions best in explosive bursts - something which probably endears him more to fans than coaches - but his contributions to first Shamrock Rovers and then Derry have provided some of the most memorable highlights of the whole season.
For all that, McCourt can’t count himself a certain starter for Derry; the same can never be said of the aforementioned O’Callaghan. An almost talismanic figure at Turner’s Cross, you could think of O’Callaghan as the rebel Cantona, a player who has the skill, audacity and vision to change a game in a heartbeat and take his side to another level. This year, by his own admission, he’s added a bite to his play, a vital counter-balance for those occasions when the muse isn’t quite with him.
But O’Callaghan is simply the most eye-catching of an exceptionally talented bunch who, if the sheer quality of their best football was all that was decisive, would be deserving winners of the league and cup double.
A league title is long overdue for Damien Richardson, and the manager would be especially deserving of the rewards on this occasion, after a difficult start to the season which saw him both determined and diplomatic enough to negotiate a minefield as the sudden replacement for Pat Dolan. Add also, how Cork coped with Kevin Doyle’s departure, and it all reflects well on the boss, though perhaps nothing reveals the mark of the man more than the free-flowing attacking football which Cork can produce when their tails are up.
And it’s that kind of exciting talent which should see Cork City edge it tonight, so long as their nerve holds in front of a jam-packed Turner’s Cross which will be almost physically vibrating with the faithful’s desperate longing for a first title in 12 years. But, should things stay scoreless, then the longer the game goes on, the more that Derry’s point advantage will come into play. And, of course, in the event of the visitors scoring first, well, then the test for Cork will be one of spirit as much as quality.
The eircom League has for a long time played poor second fiddle to the international team in terms of the nation’s consciousness. This season, the Cork-Derry rivalry has already done wonders for the league’s profile and, after the gloom of Ireland’s failure to qualify for the World Cup finals, tonight’s game offers a rare opportunity for domestic football to excite the interest of a wider audience.
And there is no better place, and no better contest, to make for that proverbial good advertisement for the game.
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