Derry City manager Tiernan Lynch's "mixed emotions" after Drogheda draw

The acid test of that status arrives at Brandywell this coming Friday in the shape of perennial silverware merchants and current league leaders, Shamrock Rovers, but Friday's 1-1 draw saw Tiernan Lynch squad display another hugely important facet of would-be title hopefuls: resilience.

Goals win games but defences win leagues but in a league where every team seems capable of defeating every other just at present, the ability to drag a crucial point out of the jaws of defeat when not at your best bodes well, especially away at a team starting the evening in third place remember.

Elicha Ahui's first half header from Owen Lambe inviting corner was only the second City have conceded in four games and it defensive solidity provided Lynch with the scope to change a game that was going away from Derry.

The half-time switch that saw Derry go from a wing-back led five to a flat back four made up exclusively of players more recognisable as centre-halves showed a team comfortable with itself, a team that has now got all the introductions out of the way and is ready to fight together.

Lynch's tactical switch, and more especially, his 67th minute introduction of Dom Thomas and Paul McMullan swung the tide. And while Thomas got the headlines, McMullan was the catalyst for the upturn in Derry fortunes.

Yes there was a touch of fortune about the equaliser when it arrived but it was little more than Derry deserved with Lynch admitting afterwards he had mixed feelings despite watching Thomas low drive find the net courtesy of a massive deflection off Ryan Brennan.

"We felt in the first half that we never really got our foot on the ball or got our passing game going," explained the City boss, "We felt our front three got isolated a little bit so we tweaked it at half-time to try and get Boycie in the hole to try and get us on the ball and move us higher up the pitch.

"At times we felt like we did that but once the changes came, we looked like a different team. All the credit for that goes to the players because it is not easy to just flip like that, there are different roles and different responsibilities but they did it seamlessly.

"I thought we were very dominant second half. I thought also our substitutes made a massive difference. They came on and put us in the game, played on the front foot. I was probably a little disappointed in the end, Pat Hoban had a massive chance and that's no disrespect to Drogheda in any way.

"But ultimately the longer it went on, you were delighted to take a point in the end."

The Derry manager revealed the team's midweek preparations had been hit by the loss of Carl Winchester to suspension and doubts of the availability Ronan Boyce and Adam O'Reilly.

"It was a makeshift week for us to be honest because Ronan Boyce had been struggling; we knew Carl (Winchester) was out and Adam (O'Reilly) was touch and go, so we had to try and tweak things and look at other options which probably disrupted our week a bit but credit to the players. "They have to take great credit for the resilience that they showed tonight. They didn’t lay-down and accept the defeat, they made sure they got something from the game. "(There are) Two things that it is about: one is the squad. And, two is making sure that you have a bit of pride putting that shirt over your head. That shirt meant something to those boys tonight."

That pride in the jersey Lynch is referring was typified by Adam O'Reilly. Back on home soil last week the Cork native took the type of heavy blow that could've meant a spell on the sidelines but with Winchester and Sadou Diallo both missing, he wasn't entertaining thoughts of not playing.

"He was very, very close to missing," reveals the Derry manager when quizzed how close O'Reilly had been to being ruled out.

"Now, if you ask Adam, there was never a doubt but I think you even saw tonight in his game, he wasn't firing into things the way he would normally do, although he did get himself booked nice and early to help with that! There is still a bit of pain there but great credit to him, he wasn't prepared to miss that game tonight.

“The word we keep talking about is resilience and we needed to find that resilience tonight. Things weren’t going our way for long periods but we weren’t going to roll over and let it get the better of us. We rolled our sleeves up and we dug out a point."

Drogheda United: Luke Dennison, Elicha Ahui, James Bolger, Conor Keeley; Owen Lambe, Ryan Brennan, Luke Heeney, Conor Kane; Thomas Oluwa; Douglas James-Taylor (Scott Brady, 74mins), Warren Davis (Bridel Bosakani, 87mins). Derry City: Brian Maher, Hayden Cann, Mark Connolly, Kevin Holt; Ciaron Harkin (Danny Mullen, HT), Adam O’Reilly, Robbie Benson, Sam Todd; Gavin Whyte (Dom Thomas , 67mins), Liam Boyce (Pat Hoban, 71mins), Michael Duffy (Paul McMullan, 67mins). Referee: Kevin O’Sullivan (Dublin).