Derry City reach agreement with League of Ireland rivals on Brandywell ticket allocation for away fans

The Southend Park will be reserved for Derry City fans only for the visit of St Patrick's Athletic to Brandywell on Friday night.

League of Ireland clubs are required to offer visiting clubs a minimum of 10 percent of the capacity of the stadium for league games but Derry City were only able to offer 75 tickets for visiting Drogheda United fans on the opening night of the season due to the closure of part of the Southend Park stand.

That allocation didn’t go down well with fans across the league but Derry have quickly negotiated ways to accommodate more travelling supporters for upcoming fixtures on Foyleside.

With blocks A and B in the Southend Park stand out of bounds until further notice and those 400 seats removed, the allocation of tickets for away supporters will remain limited until the opening of the new terrace, estimated to be completed at the end of July.

Another full house is expected for the visit of St Pat's to Brandywell on Friday.

Demand for tickets for Friday's clash with the Richmond Park club is significant with a large number of fans expected to stay overnight and watch Dublin play Derry in the Allianz Football League fixture at Celtic Park on Saturday.

The enforcement of a 10 per cent allocation for away supporters, however, would mean Derry would be taking away seats from season ticket holders - an option the club were unwilling to negotiate on.

Therefore Derry City has reached a compromise which will accommodate a total of 230 St Pat's fans. Of those 230 places, 200 visiting spectators will be positioned in the terrace area at the Lone Moor Road end of the ground and 30 places will be designated in the Mark Farren Stand for officials and dignitaries including up to 25 elderly or disabled supporters..

Pulse Security Management will ensure the safety of both sets of supporters who will be segregated in the standing terrace area with Derry fans expected to be positioned nearest the club merchandise shop.

The entire Southend Park stand will be used for home fans only and up to 80 seats will be made available for general sale online due to limited terrace tickets.

A similar system is likely to be implemented for the visit of Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians whose fans travel in large numbers and Derry City has already been in contact with individual clubs including Waterford, Galway and Dundalk to negotiate allocation of tickets for those upcoming fixtures.

Keep an eye on Derry City's social media and website for further updates.