Derry grind out draw to stop Pat’s winning streak
Sean Hoare of St Patrick's Athletic reacts after a missed goal chance during the SSE Airtricity Men's Premier Division match against Derry City at Richmond Park in Dublin. Pic: Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile
Derry City have yet to take the lead seven games into the season but they’ll be glad of this draw at in-form St Patrick’s Athletic.
A crowd of 4,502 turned up, most of them seeking a fifth straight win for Stephen Kenny’s side, but they were just as limited as Derry in conjuring clearcut chances.
At one point, Derry inadvertently invoked a new tactic of fielding an extra player to overturn their ailing start but all the confusion around a substitution with 20 minutes left resulted in was the belated departee, Darragh Markey, being booked.
For all of Derry’s early sluggishness this term, losing half of their first six matches, they have persisted with the experiment of redeploying James McClean as a holding midfielder.
He was flanked by another James, former Arsenal trainee Olayinka, and as a duo they got the better of a Saints midfield shorn of experienced injured pair Chris Forrester and Jamie Lennon.
Barry Baggley and the preseason recruit from champions Shamrock Rovers, Darragh Nugent, slowly grew into the contest without properly applying their stamp.
Perhaps that cohesion was curbed by the loss of Kian Leavy, the mercurial playmaker so central to their recent hot streak.
His back injury forced Stephen Kenny into one change and it was noticeable in a first half of toil for the hosts.
All they could fashion was Seán Hoare glanced header over from an 18th minute corner and Barry Baggley’s low drive he speared beyond the far post.
Ryan Edmondson played his part for Pat’s by ghosting in behind the Derry defence but there was nobody to connect with the low delivery he flashed across the six yard box.
Derry kept faith with Dipo Akinyemi over James Clarke as their prime attacking outlet despite Friday’s latest defeat at home to Shelbourne. Now on his 16th club by the age of 28, the striker has led a nomadic existence and it was mirrored in his display.
It would take until past the half hour mark before he eventually came alive, dropping deep to receive the ball and turn, unleashing a shot which deflected out for a corner.
Rather, it was the wing wizardry of Michael Duffy where the visiting threat stemmed from. The reigning Player of the Month is lethal let fly with a 14th-minute free-kick from the left that required an acrobatic clearance by James Browne to prevent his goalkeeper Joseph Anang being worked.
His exertions would only partially increase in the second half.
That was after Tiernan Lynch’s four-man substitution on 71 minutes, including the withdrawal of Duffy, that sprung James Clarke and Josh Thomas into a two-pronged attack.
Clarke was first to make inroads by slaloming in from the left and popping a tame shot for the stopper to easily gather.
Anang, in line for a World Cup trip with Ghana, expected Thomas to test him when he shrugged off Hoare with 10 minutes left to hare clear. His shimmying into a desired body angle afforded the custodian time to stand tall and the rising curler failed to carry the punch to trouble him.
Late on, with the game there for the taking, centre-backs at either side had opportunities to steal the points.
Saints captain Joe Redmond got a clear sight at goal three minutes from full-time after the ball landed at his feet from Max Mata’s knockdown, only for him to volley a yard off-target.
Almost instantly, Derry won a free, from which James McClean floated the ball to the far post. Alex Bannon, up from the back, was left unattended to connect but again the accuracy eluded him with his header.
A scramble in the box in stoppage time almost fell kindly for Pat’s but they would have been mightily fortunate to have extended their hot streak on a mundane Monday.
J Anang; J Redmond, S Hoare, L Turner; J Browne, D Nugent, B Baggley, J McClelland (A Breslin 78); R Palmer, R Edmondson (G Nzingo 66); A Keena (M Mata 66).
E Beach; A Bannon, J Stott, P McClean; B Cotter (C Barr 71), J Olayinka, J McClean; M Duffy (J Clarke 71), D Markey (A O’Reilly 71), B Fleming; D Akinyemi (J Thomas 71).
Rob Harvey (Dublin) Attendance: 4,502.
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