William Houston, manager of the West Bank Initiative, is also convinced that the group was "deliberately directed" to the Tavern Bar premises at London Street.

The attack - involving up to 20-30 people - took place shortly before Tuesday evening's eircom League Cup Final at Brandywell between Derry City and Bohemians.

Several thousand pounds worth of damage was caused to the premises when the gang threw stools through the front windows of the premises.
Mr Houston also claimed that the gang was "directed" to the neighbourhood bar whose regulars hail from the nearby Fountain.

"These people aren't local. Somebody must have told them about the bar and directed them towards it," he told the 'Journal'.
The community worker also claimed the attack could have been organised on the internet ahead of the game.

"I have been talking to people in the Fountain who believe that people organised the attack on the internet," he said.
Image tarnished

Mr Houston claimed that the image of the Fountain area had been badly tarnished by this week's attack.

"We get a lot of tourists in this particular area because it is so close to the Cathedral and the Walls. Indeed there were two Canadian tourists in the bar at the time of the attack and it is terrible that they should have had to see something like this.

"The attack on the bar was reported everywhere, not just locally. I managed to find references to it on news sites from all over the world, so the news of this incident has spread far beyond the city. However, I hope that it will not put people off visiting the area."