RUAIDHRÍ HIGGINS PLAYED down his touchline confrontation with Damien Duff but had no problem talking up his side’s title credentials after a stalemate with Shelbourne at Tolka Park last night.
The Derry City boss was involved in a somewhat tense standoff with his former Republic of Ireland colleague as they shook hands at full time.
Candystripes centre back Sam Todd had been shown a red card in the 35th minute after committing his second yellow card offence for a foul on Liam Burt.
Higgins accepted it was the correct decision but admitted his frustration at the “double standards” which later saw John Martin avoid a caution for bringing down Paul McMullan when the Shels man was already booked.
The draw means Shels remain three points clear of Derry at the top of the Premier Division with Duff’s side having a game in hand.
“It’s just emotions, it’s an emotional game, they want to win, we want to win, it’s handbags, really,” Higgins said of the incident at the end.
FT at Tolka Park.
— Virgin Media Sport (@VMSportIE) August 5, 2024
Shels 0-0 Derry City.
All square between 1st and 2nd. A big effort from Derry having played with 10 men for an hour.
A bit of a moment between Damien Duff and Ruaidhrí Higgins at full-time...
#SHEDER | #LOI pic.twitter.com/qHGioL7V71
“I have no issue with the sending off, but it’s double standards. What I do have an issue with is, John Martin, one of their players, Paul McMullen does him in a one on one going into the final third, a promising attack, John Martin brings him down, and the punishment’s not the same. And he’s brought off 30 seconds later, that’s my issue.
“I am proud of the players, to a man, they poured their guts out on the pitch, it gives you real pride and you believe in the group as they’ve given absolutely everything to make sure we left with a minimum of a point and I felt we deserved three.
“I found out that we are up for it, I found out that we are made of the right stuff. We were free-flowing, played some brilliant stuff, arrogance is the wrong word but played with a bit of a swagger in a difficult venue against a really good team.”
Speaking to Virgin Media in the immediate aftermath, Duff acknowledged that his players didn’t deserve to win and felt there was “a hint of nervousness” about their play.
“It’s a better point for Derry, let’s call a spade a spade. Not so good for us. At the same time, the gap stays with a game chalked off. One of the hardest things to do in football is break down a block. Did we do enough? Absolutely not.
“There was a hint of nervousness, not around the ground but in our play, hesitant in our passes. Our general play didn’t warrant a win.”
While Shels and Derry are the top two, Higgins insisted that four-in-a-row champions Shamrock Rovers cannot be ignored despite a frustrating domestic campaign.
The Hoops are eight points adrift of second place and 11 off top spot, and even though they have two games in hand on Derry and one on Shels, Stephen Bradley’s sie would have to produce a stirring revival to rein in both challengers to their crown.
“Let’s be honest, there’s more than two teams involved in it. Anyone who thinks any different is wrong.
“They’re not out of it. One hundred percent they’re involved in because I’ve no doubt they’ve got the quality to string a load of wins together. I’m not just firing it out there for the craic – I genuinely believe that they’re in it. But if we keep performing, especially in the first half with 11 v 11, we give ourselves real hope and optimism. That’s all you can ask for.”
With the run-in now in full flow, the possibility of a final-day decider is also on the cards as Derry host Shels at the Ryan McBride Brandywell. Higgins, naturally, backed his side to come out on top if the trophy was on the line at that point.
“Absolutely, aye. You just want to be in the mix. I’m not even thinking that far ahead because we’ve played 60 minutes with 10 men. I’m trying to get them recovered. They had a day off scheduled [for today] which we’ll be knocking on the head. They’ll be in recovering and then get ready Wednesday preparing for Dundalk.”
