Clancy walks after suffering a sucker punch to Derry

📷 KBD Photos

Cork City were looking to turn their recent form on its head and get back to winning ways as they hosted Tiernan Lynch’s Derry City at Turner’s Cross. Derry were coming off of winning five of their last seven games and were looking to continue this good form down south.

In what would become his final game in charge, Tim Clancy made just one change to the side that fell to a late loss in Louth, with Kitt Nelson dropping to the bench, being replaced by Milan Mbeng who was returning from injury. Seani Maguire and Greg Bolger also came back into the squad following injury.

Lynch mae three changes to his side that narrowly edged out Pats at the Brandywell. Danny Mullen, Shane Ferguson and Paul McMullan all dropped out of the side, with Sam Todd, Liam Boyce and Gavin Whyte coming in. 

Derry started brightly and should have taken the lead three minutes in. Shane Ferguson whipped a ball across the box where it found the head of Liam Boyce who flicked the ball towards goal, but Tein Troost was there to keep it out.

City were having a very poor half and Derry capitalised and took the lead after twenty five minutes. A ball was knocked down the line to Gavin Whyte, a ball which Tein Troost thought he could get to, but was caught in no man's land on the far left of his own box as Whyte collected the ball. Whyte dinked the ball into the box where Liam Boyce rose highest to nod the ball into an empty net to give his side a deserved lead.

Derry continued to dominate the game for the rest of the half, but failed to really create a big chance and had to settle for a one goal lead going into half time.

City picked up their performance in the second half, with the introduction of Kitt Nelson at the break playing a large part in this, which eventually led to the home side levelling up the game in the sixty second minute. A quick throw-in started a City counter with Cathal O’Sullivan whipping the ball into the box, where Djenairo Daniels was able to deftly guide the ball into the bar corner to level the game. 

Despite Derry’s performance falling a bit in the second half, they were still a threat and showed it with fifteen minutes to play. Michael Duffy had his free kick tipped wide by Troost. The resulting corner fell to Sam Todd who had his header cleared off the line by Kitt Nelson to keep the game level.

However, the game wasn't level for long, as City’s defensive struggles late on continued, and the visitors retook the lead two minutes later. After what looked to be a clear push on Harvey Skieters in the box, City were denied a penalty and Derry went up the other end and won a corner thanks to a last ditch tackle by Matty Kiernan. This corner caused City issues as Kevin Holt got on the end of a Derry corner and powered a header home to give the Candystripes another lead.

Derry were able to weather the Cork City storm thanks to the absence of Djenairo Daniels after he came off with an injury, and the late introduction of the seemingly still not ready Seani Maguire wasn't enough for the hosts as they suffered yet another defeat.

Now to the bigger story of the night: Tim Clancy resigned on the pitch straight after the game against Derry. This has caused shockwaves around the fanbase, not simply just due to the fact Clancy has left, but more where this leaves the club and what it says about the goings on around the club and higher up. If you want a more in depth discussion and opinions on this then I'd suggest reading Decky’s blog that's up on the website after this if you haven't already, but I'll give a few opinions of my own. 

To say that Tim Clancy isn't a good manager to me isn't true at all, and his resignation to me paints a poor picture of the situation of the club at the moment. The turmoil that this club has gone through over the past few years since being promoted in 2022 can only be described as a bit embarrassing. The mistakes that were made in 2023, whether that's naivety in the makeup of our squad, or our summer recruitment, or the managerial saga after Colin Healy’s departure, that all lead to our eventual relegation, have started to begin again. The next few months are incredibly important due to the multiple crucial decisions that’ll need to be made. Another relegation is something the fanbase doesnt deserve, but maybe the club does if we don't get the next few months right.

City will be managerless going into their next game, which will take place in Inchicore as they take on St Pats on Friday. As for Derry, they will try to keep their good form up as they travel to Louth to take on Drogheda United.