Brian Maher wants Derry City to give fans something to sing about as Brandywell campaign draws to a close

The Raheny native celebrated his 22nd birthday in the city this week and feels at home on Foyleside where he's made such a significant impact on Ruaidhri Higgins' exciting team this season.

At first it was a difficult transition for the Dubliner, moving away from his family for the first time in his career but over the course of an unforgettable year for both club and country, he fully immersed himself in the community in the maiden city.

The former St Patrick's Athletic and Bray Wanderers goalkeeper has been bowled over by how the Derry fans have got behind him this season, particularly when he needed their support the most last month.

After an almost flawless first season between the sticks with Derry, Maher made an untimely mistake in the second half against Shelbourne in the club's penultimate home match when he gifted the ball to Jack Moylan who punished the City keeper with a clinical finish.

Joe Thomson spared his blushes with an 83rd minute equaliser on that occasion to keep alive Derry's slim title hopes but it wasn't enough to console Maher.

Maher was taken aback by the messages of support he received on social media and via text as he bounced back with a clean sheet against Sligo Rovers the following Monday, a result which ended that unexpected league challenge.

As the Derry players bid farewell to the Brandywell support in their final game at the Lone Moor Road for 2022, Maher wants to express his gratitude for how welcome they've made him feel in his first season away from home.

"Honestly, it's amazing to see the fans fill the stadium and I don't know if any other team in the league can say they've sold out every home game this year," he said.

"If we haven't we've been very close to doing it. It makes a huge difference and when you're coming out to a packed Brandywell it's a massive advantage for us. If we're going to go on and do things with this team then we need to make the Brandywell a fortress and the fans have done that all year so we can only say 'thank you'.

"I can really feel the support of the fans. Probably the most I've felt was after the Shels game when I was so disappointed with the goal I conceded. After that game, whether it was in the stadium or when I went through my phone and stuff, I really couldn't believe all the support and text messages I got from fans.

"Again, it only amazes you when that happens and I don't think there's many fans that would be like that and they've really got behind me and more importantly behind the whole team from day one."

With the anticipation of a first FAI Cup final since 2014 growing in the city, the amount of red and white jerseys on the streets of Derry hasn't gone unnoticed by Maher.

The fanbase is also getting noticeably younger and Maher hopes they will witness plenty of success over the coming years should this City team fulfil its promise.

"It's been brilliant to see," he added. "Walking through the city now you see Derry fans everywhere and it's great. Hopefully , long may that continue. It's been unbelievable and the amount of young fans coming through the gates is great to see as well. The next generation of Derry fans and the noise and support for every game, win, lose or draw, has been second to none and we can only say thanks to all the fans for it."

Derry's title tilt petered to a disappointing conclusion with back-to-back draws against Shels and Sligo meaning their trip to Tallaght last Sunday night was a painful one as they witnessed at close quarters, Shamrock Rovers title winning party celebrations.

Maher reckons the 10 point margin going into the final game is not reflective of the season and how close they ran Rovers but the points difference from the champions isn't something which overly irks Derry's No.1.

"I think that 10 points is probably a little bit false and everyone watching the games knows that," he added. "So it's nothing that bothers us too much. We were going into the Shels and Sligo games knowing that if results went differently it would be back in our hands. It just shows you how fast it can switch in our league with three games in a week."

Barring a 3-0 home defeat to Dundalk this evening, Derry will sign off the league season with a runners-up spot secured and importantly Maher believes winning the game is the least they can do for the Brandywell Faithful.

"It's just an opportunity this week to get back on the right track and build a bit of momentum for next Sunday which is obviously the biggest game of our season. Of course firstly we need to focus on this one and wrap up second place.

"We just want to try and win our last game and end this run we're on. Also we want to go into the cup final with a bit oif momentum.

"We knew we would have to go down there (Tallaght) and watch the title celebrations and perform a guard of honour, it's something you never want to do again and something you're hoping in the next few years someone will do for us rather than having to do it.

"It's a good dressing room and everyone has been there to pick each other up and there's no real time to dwell on the last few weeks.

"We just have to focus on this game and use it to get us into good shape for the cup final next week. We can't be too hard on ourselves and morale is still high. We have two very big games left so it has to be."

The past couple of weeks have been frustrating as the title hopes faded and later distinguished altogether in that dour stalemate at the Showgrounds.

While Maher still has regrets about how the title race transpired, upon reflection surely second place and a cup final to look forward to has to be regarded as a successful campaign.

"I think at the start of the season if you had offered us the progress that we've made, I'd say we would be very happy with it.

But when you give yourself a chance like we did, we're a little bit disappointed.

"We can see it with the fans, how happy they are to see the club back in such a good position and still with a cup final to look forward to. So if we are to finish second and win the cup I think it would be a very successful season."