Champions Shelbourne had a loyal fan with the right connections to thank – and a Derry City side unable to defend – as they sauntered to success as the League of Ireland resumed.
The second half of this game was delayed by almost an hour due to a power outage at Tolka just moments after the half-time whistle – the timing remarkable, mere days after the country finally came out of one of the worst losses of electricity due to a storm in its history.
Most, perhaps all of the sold-out Tolka crowd, had an image of Damien Duff in a darkened room: what must he have been thinking at the break? A very likely win against a big team might have been rendered obsolete.
Instead, as they head north in the early hours, Derry – who have a massive wage bill and will have expected to challenge for the title this season – would have had their own share of dark thoughts about what is in store in 2025.
The Candystripes, with new boss Tiernan Lynch having his first taste of League of Ireland management after a surprise move from Larne, were miles off the pace as Shels, one of the favourites for the league, showed that they should not be underestimated.
A Seán Boyd double, one from the spot, and Evan Caffrey's goal had Shels two up at the break, a lovely Michael Duffy header scant consolation for Derry, who will do well to compete for a place in Europe unless they improve markedly on this effort.
Reports that Duff himself had fixed the sparks issue could not immediately be verified. It later turned out that a fan at the match who works for the Electricity Supply Board sprung to action, addressed what the problem was, dialled the on-call team from the ESB and it came to save Shelbourne's title challenge.
That, of course, is an exaggeration – but Duff will look back on this night with a smile down the line. A refixture – which at one stage looked likely – would have been a killer, and Shels were in a marvellous position and command at the break.
If the League of Ireland has not arrived, it is on one wild journey all of a sudden. What a week it has been already – and there was a rare buzz around Drumcondra before another sell out crowd, with the press corps spilling over into the general seating area, prompting grumbles from one or two of the older hacks about the newcomers on the scene.
Stephen Bradley described record-breaking 16-year-old Michael Noonan as "a throwback" after his Norwegian heroics on Thursday and there was a throwback feel to this match too: both sides played 4-4-2 (albeit Liam Boyce dropped a bit deep for Derry without the ball, which was most of the first half); the worn-out pitch looked as if it were in the middle of the season; and the biting cold conditions that have dominated in Dublin the past week prevailed again.
The much-hyped Mipo Odubeko was bright in the early stages, getting a couple of shots away that failed to cause Brian Maher a problem. Maher decided to stay at Brandywell this term, as did Patrick Hoban and Adam O'Reilly, all three starting in a Derry side with four 33-year-olds among the 11.
Kerr McInroy's talents have been extolled by Damien Duff, who knew him at Celtic, and the newbie showcased his passing with a gorgeous ball on nine minutes that resulted in a corner kick from which Sam Bone headed tamely wide before the Derry support by the Ballybough end.
Sam Todd had a horror show on his last visit here – getting sent off in the first half in a 1-1 draw that Derry were blessed to get – and this was not much better. The opener came on 11 minutes and it was a shambles from a Derry perspective.
Harry Wood, whose goal won the league at Brandywell on the final day of 2024, played forward a hopeful punt, and, with Maher well off his line, Todd made a poor hooked clearance straight to Boyd. The big man, so dearly loved by Damien Duff, found the net with a nice curling effort from around 45 yards, but Derry made it far too easy.
The Foylesiders replied pretty much with the next attack – their first spell of genuine possession – on 14 minutes. Dom Thomas, signed in the off season from Queen Park, curled over a beautiful cross for Duffy to head home at the back post.
Incredibly, Shels scored from the kick off, with Caffrey driving home a left-footed drive at the edge of the box after Todd failed to deal with Boyd, one of whom getting a touch before Caffrey curled beyond a perplexed Maher.
There had to be more goals, surely? Indeed, Boyce, one of the highest-profile additions in recent years in the league, had space at the edge of the box on 17 minutes but his shot met a sea of Shelbourne players. It was breathless stuff.
By the standards it had set, the game was rather quiet until the 32nd minute, when Derry defended their box like a siege. Four blocks were made in a frantic few seconds, with Caffrey and Gannon thwarted, Todd's blocks earning him some confidence.
Odubeko continued to exhibit trickery in tight spaces, already enjoying a shade of adulation among the Reds support, and he got Carl Winchester booked as half-time neared.
The penalty that allowed Shels to double their lead was certainly controversial. Boyd was fouled by Todd, though there was not a lot in it, and it while it was hard to determine where the contact took place, referee Rob Harvey felt it was just inside.
Mark Connolly, the Derry captain, could not believe what was happening. Boyd's penalty was poor and Maher will feel that he should have saved but it summed up the half that it crept in despite the keeper getting a weak touch.
Within seconds of the half-time whistle, the electricity went out.
This writer cannot recall an incident like it in all his years following sport, but help was at hand and, with so much good feeling about the league right now, this televised game deserved better than an abandonment.
The pace of Odubeku was talked about much in the off season and Derry would have known about it but they still could not cope. Twelve minutes into the second half he was adjudged to be onside after a lovely through ball from Caffrey but, with the outside of the foot, he found the foot of the post when it looked sure to curl in.
City had barely recovered when Wood played the Dubliner in again but Odubeku's curling effort went just wide, the visitors floundering. Remarkably, the former Ireland youth international had yet another chance on 64 minutes but blasted wide with his left foot – Duff will be purring at his potential, at least.
Todd will have better nights but he was brilliant 11 minutes before the end, doing all he could to stop Odubeko, who again looked as if to score but Todd made a fine block. Quite what Odubeko's XG was compared to Boyd's would have made for intriguing analysis but the latter got a standing ovation as he departed shortly afterwards.
Shels were happy to empty the bench and, while Derry did press for a goal – Duffy nearly curling into the top corner – the lights had long gone out.
Shelbourne: Conor Kearns; Sean Gannon, Sam Bone, Paddy Barrett, Kameron Ledwidge; Harry Wood (Rayhaan Tulloch 88), Mark Coyle, Kerr McInroy (JJ Lunney 66), Evan Caffrey (Ryan O'Kane 87); Seán Boyd (Ellis Chapman 81), Mipo Odubeko (John Martin 88).
Derry City: Brian Maher; Ronan Boyce, Sam Todd, Mark Connolly, Shane Ferguson; Dom Thomas (Paul McMullan 78), Carl Winchester (Sadou Diallo 61), Adam O'Reilly, Michael Duffy; Liam Boyce (Seán Patton 69); Patrick Hoban (Gavin Whyte 69).
Referee: Rob Harvey (Dublin).
