Tag: De Vries

Sligo Rovers left it late (oh so very late) to ensure victory against a dogged Derry City on Tuesday when substitute Alex Cooper swung in an alluring cross to Ryan De Vries who headed in after panic in the Derry backline. The 100 fans (described by the WatchLOI commentator as “the most passionate support in the league”) allowed into the Showgrounds were treated to a tense finale after Walter Figueira somehow hit the post with 12 minutes left.

Rovers were without the suspended David Cawley and Liam Buckley decided to shuffle the pack accordingly, with four changes being made; Darragh Noone dropping to right-back replacing Lewis Banks, Will Seymore for the aforementioned Cawley who also took the captain’s armband from him, Teemu Penninkangas in for Kyle Callan Mc-Faddan who’s been struck with an illness, and Alex Cooper made way for Jesse Devers.

Derry came to the Showgrounds with fervour after what looked a certain win in Dalymount Park was somehow wrenched from their grip with 2 goals in the six minutes of additional time. It showed in their play early on – with the wind in their favour – they were able to dominate possession for the first ten minutes, with their best chance in this period being an inswinging corner which beat everyone in red and white, including Ed McGinty, but unfortunately for Derry City it beat everyone in black too. It was clear to see from the pressing intensity and speed in transition that Buckley wanted a huge improvement from the Waterford game, and he was beginning to receive that improvement. Our captain on the night, Will Seymore, was able to find plenty of space in front of the two centre backs of Penninkangas and Buckley to switch the play well to Devers and Noone on the right hand side. This culminated with a soft penalty shout 29 minutes in when Coughlan was “pushed” to the ground reaching for a header, with Devers’  followup deflected over the bar. De Vries was able to control the game in the number 10 role from then until time, with a series of Hollywood passes out to Devers on the right which would lead to half-chances with Devers’ crosses.

After half time, Rovers ascertained the upper hand, forcing Derry back now that the wind was in the Bit O’Red’s favour. Even still, the game was evenly poised and either side could’ve walked away with the 3 points. This was quantified when a threatening cross from Ibrahim Meite was met by Walter Figueira, who hit the post from 6 yards out after 78. This was the wake up call our lads needed, as the players were starting to lose focus, which led to Liam Buckley taking off Devers and Donelon for Banks and Cooper respectively. And it was Cooper who ended up playing the perfect cross – which took out every single Derry defender – to the onrushing Ryan De Vries to head into the net from 6 yards out. Derry were too demoralised after this late finish to mount any real challenge on Ed McGinty’s goal in the 4 minutes added time.

Teams

ROVERS: E McGinty; D Noone, G Buckley, T Penninkangas, R Donelon (A Cooper, 80); W Seymore, N Morahan; J Ogedi-Uzokwe, R De Vries, J Devers (L Banks, 84); R Coughlan

DERRY CITY: P Cherrie; C Coll, J McJannet, E Toal, D Cole; J Dunwoody (C Harkin, 84), C McCormack; A Hammill, J Malone (Mallon, 60), W Figueira; J Akintunde (I Miete, 73)

Ref: Neil Doyle

Rovers Ratings

Ed McGinty: 6 – Didn’t have a lot to do, kept it tight and distributed well.

Darragh Noone: 6 – Overlapped Devers well before Banks came on to reinforce.

Garry Buckley: 8 – Did magnificently, was impenetrable at the back.

Teemu Penninkangas: 8 – Was towering as always in the air.

Regan Donelon: 6 – Corner delivery was decent. Taken off for Cooper after 80 minutes.

Junior Ogedi-Uzokwe: 7 – His linkup with Coughlan was incredible, the two are telepathic.

Will Seymore: 7 – Switched the ball excellently in the first half but was mediocre in the second, had a slip on the ball which led to a Derry chance.

Niall Morahan: 7 – Shuttled the ball brilliantly between the midfield lines

Jesse Devers: 7 – The Mayo man was our prime creator in the first half, but couldn’t get involved in the second. Taken off for Banks after 84 minutes to push Noone up further.

Ronan Coughlan: 7 – Got into space well despite being tightly marked. As mentioned before, great linkup with Junior.

Ryan De Vries: 9 – He was the antithesis of his Waterford performance, always looking for the ball and playing some Rolls-Royce stuff at times. To net the match-winner was the icing on the cake.

Alex Cooper: 7 – Played a  sumptuous cross for De Vries’ winner.

Lewis Banks: 6  – Reinforced the back when he came on.