FUNNY HOW IT all comes round.
Last year, Shamrock Rovers came to the Ryan McBride Brandywell, four points clear of second-placed Derry City in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division title race.
That evening, Derry brought huge energy and effort. They went ahead through a Cameron McJannet header from a Will Patching corner.
It could have been 2-0 when Rovers, by now pushing up in search of an equaliser, left holes at the back. On a counter-attack with just Roberto Lopes back for the hoops, Adam O’Reilly had the option of squaring to either Danny Mullen or Paul McMullan.
He did neither. He went himself and hit the side netting.
With five minutes to go, Rory Gaffney found another patch of space by dropping off the City defensive line. He swivelled and put Graham Burke away.
The striker got his body between the ball and the retreating Shane McEleney. Contact was inevitable and Burke knew it was coming. McEleney bundled Burke over and was instantly red-carded. Burke coolly rolled the ball to the net.
Another few minutes later and Stephen Bradley was over at the Rovers fans where they were house in the Southend Park Stand, now nipped off to make way for the forthcoming North Stand, doing all the fistpumps.
In a matter of weeks, he would be the first manager to do four league titles in a row.
Here, we had another penalty shout. More questionable for sure, and we all knew the post-match chatter would be dominated with he-said, he-said penalty talk.
For Derry manager Ruaidhrí Higgins, he felt that the spot kick awarded to Patrick McEleney, was a mere result of Karma, having been denied what he felt was a deserved on earlier when Lee Grace handled the ball in the box.
“Did he use his experience?” he asked of McEleney, “Of course he did. And we got the penalty hat we deserved, from the two previous incidents that we should have got but we didn’t.”
The Grace handball earned “Stonewall” status, with the Limavady man explaining, “You see those penalties given absolutely every week. It’s a penalty! There’s not a question about it, it’s a penalty. We didn’t get it unfortunately, but we kept going, we kept believing and we got a point.”
Naturally, Bradley felt a pre-season directive cleared up that ambiguity.
“The Lee Grace one is very, very simple. Lee is on the ground, he has his arms on the ground. We have all been told at the start of the year, that is a natural position,” Bradley said.
“Supporting your body, your arms are on the ground, that’s a natural position. I think they are clutching at straws with that one.
“Regardless, whether there is another five penalties, you don’t even it up by giving that one. Doesn’t matter. That’s awful. Zero contact, Patrick, all the Derry players will tell you, ‘I dived.’”
He continued, “The referee says it’s a penalty. It’s disgusting, it’s taken out of our hands.
“The players come here, dominate the game for the first half after the first five minutes the dominate the game. Second half, completely in control out of possession, no chances for Derry and the ref takes it out of our hands.”
You sense that he’s talking to his own dressing room when he talks about dominating the game. Rovers came with a plan to frustrate and contain.
There’s nothing new in that. Derry City’s fanbase has grown used to opposition teams coming up the road, plonking one striker up top that find himself grafting at the head of a heavy defence, and after some time, the tension and frustration grows, spreading around the place and coming down the Mark Farren Stand.
Consider this. In the last 30 games, Derry City have not scored a first-half goal.
And yet, with Shelbourne looking like they are cycling on flat tyres of late, they could be in line for a first league title since 1997.
Everything points to that 1 November date at the Brandywell when Shelbourne come to town.
Three points behind but with a much better goal difference, it would be a saucy encounter if it were to come down to a case of Derry City needing to win the game to win the league.
Shelbourne’s form though is flaky. They have won two from their last eight games, one of those coming against Dundalk who look to be a zombie team at this stage.
Their run in however, is kind. Kind-ish. They have four home games, but an away fixture at Tallaght Stadium against Shamrock Rovers.
For Rovers, their own Drive for Five has been eclipsed by progress in Europe. The chopped liver of an away day to Drogheda fails to whet the appetite the way the fillet steak of Chelsea might.
The meeting with Bohs on Monday will take plenty out of them and then they have another scrap against St Pat’s on Friday. It’s a hectic period.
Overall, you might suspect it is Derry who have the greatest chance of taking the title.
Asked if last year’s experience of contesting it provides a frame of reference for the team, manager Higgins went ultra-realist.
“Over the last couple of years we haven’t really been in it. We have flirted with it but I think this is the first time we have really been in it and embraced it,” he said.
“Listen, our supporters have waited an awful long time for a league title. It’s 27 years or whatever. They are kicking every ball, there is anxiety and all those emotions.
“And that’s what football is about. It’s an emotional game, and you have got to embrace it.”
It’s a precious thing to have a genuine title race with such passion. Enjoy the next few weeks.
