Derry mull over venue for dream UEFA Cup tie
The Brandywell can house only 3,000 supporters but any choice of alternative venue carries significant political and geographical implications.
Derry are set to reject offers — including reportedly one from Linfield — to play their big match in Belfast.
However the only other viable alternative is to play 150 miles away at Lansdowne Road, and Derry chief executive Jim Roddy admitted the decision to leave the Brandywell would therefore be a tough one.
Roddy said: “It’s a big decision to take the game away from our city. It’s not really what we want to do, so over the next 24 hours we’ll decide what will happen.
“We don’t want to get into any political issues. We just want to play football. But that doesn’t concern us as much as stripping the city of something that’s going to belong to it for ever more.
“There are so many different ramifications, in terms of the tourist industry and putting the city on the map. If we go to Dublin — and it would be Dublin, not Belfast — you lose some of your identity.
“We’re 150 miles away from Dublin and it’s an arduous task to ask people to travel midweek.
“If it was to be in Dublin we would have to have 14,000 to 15,000 people at least, and that is an awful lot for a city of 100,000 people.
“You would also be hoping for a lot of other people just to come and watch and support, so it’s a big decision.
“It’s not all financial, but of course finances play a big role in what we do.
“The main reason is we represent a city that is very proud of itself, and we’ve a moral obligation to the people of the city to sell it.”
Despite the problems, Roddy is still looking forward to a mouthwatering clash, and with no fears.
“We will give it our best shot and try to do everybody proud. At the end of the day, winning the league is our most important objective. Anything else is just a bonus.”
But first, Derry’s hectic season continues with a Carlsberg FAI Cup (third round) meeting with Shelbourne at Tolka Park tomorrow (6.30pm).
After their latest UEFA Cup success in eliminating Gretna, manager Stephen Kenny describes the game as another part of the learning process.
“There has been so much hype about Europe and who we’ve drawn but we’ve got to get back down to earth very quickly.”
Meanwhile, today’s FAI Cup fixtures see UCD at home to Limerick (5.15pm), Finn Harps hosting Athlone Town (7.45pm), St Patrick’s Athletic entertaining Dundalk (7.45pm) and Sligo Rovers at home to Bray Wanderers. (7.45pm). Killester United, who were to meet Dublin City, go straight into the quarter-finals.
Chornomorets v Hapoel Tel-Aviv; Braga v Chievo; Levadia Tallin v Newcastle; Molde v Rangers; Standard Liege v Celta Vigo; Maccabi Haifa v Liteks Lovetch; Derry City v PSG; Hertha Berlin v Odense BK; Legia Warsaw v Austria Magna; Panathinaikos v Metallurg Zaporizhzhya; Lokomotiv Moscow v Zulte-Wargerem; Sparta Prague v Hearts; Fenerbahce v Randers FC; SV Red Bull Salzburg v Blackburn; Schalke 04 v AS Nancy; Ethnikos Achnas v Lens; Liberec v Crvena Zvezda; AZ v Kayserispor; Rubin Kazan v Parma; Brondby v Eintracht Frankfurt; Atromitos v Sevilla; Besiktas v CSKA Sofia; Vitoria Setubal v Heerenveen; Marseille v Mlada Boleslav; Atvidabergs FF v Grasshopers; Rapid Bucuresti v Nacional; Trabzonspor v Osasuna; Basle v Rabotnicki Kometal; West Ham v Palermo; Feyenoord v Lokomotiv Sofia; SCP Ruzomberok v Club Brugge; FC Sion v Bayer Leverkusen; Partizan Belgrade v FC Groningen; Xanthi v Dinamo Bucuresti; Slavia Prague v Tottenham; IK Start v Ajax; Artmedia Bratislava v Espanyol; Wisla Krakow v Iraklis; Livorno v FC Superfund; Dinamo Zagreb v Auxerre.
Ties to be played over two legs on Sep 14 & 18.
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