League of Ireland clubs get to grips with a strange new reality

From a City perspective the game will mostly be remembered for the surreal circumstances in which it was played than the spectacle on the pitch.

Indeed the backdrop to the game made for a strange night as the Candy Stripes became the first club to host a League of Ireland match behind closed doors during the coronavirus pandemic.

And there was an eerie atmosphere at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium as both sets of teams got their first taste of football’s new reality 21 weeks after their last competitive match.

Coaching staff and substitutes wore masks and were separated by two metres as they took their place in the stands behind the dugouts.

Coronavirus has killed the handshake but fist bumps and elbow bumps were the order of the day as the players and staff entered the stadium wearing facemasks and the teams emerged onto the pitch from separate ends of the ground.

Buckets of disinfectant were spaced out around the pitch as the stewards took on the role of ball boys. There were water breaks, five substitutes permitted and every shout by players and coaches was audible.

Top level football is back in Ireland but it certainly has a different feel about it.

The media were requested to turn up outside the ground more than two hours before kick-off as part of the FAI’s safer return to football protocols.

Covid-19 questionnaires in hand, the press lined up one-by-one to have their temperatures checked before proceeding to the stadium alongside the Brandywell dog track in search of an allocated seat in the Mark Farren Stand.

Some things stay the same and the sight of Willie Barrett making his way to the control room to pick up the mike brought a sense of normality to the night, albeit he was donning a menacing looking face mask he had to quickly take off at the top of the steps for a breather.

Back to normal then . . . Well it was until he began to play crowd noise through the stadium tannoy together with what sounded like the crackling at the end of a dirty vinyl. It was no substitute for the real thing!

“It’s different, not the same,” smiled Liam Buckley after the game. “You can’t beat the banter with the crowd but we have 14 games like this so we better get used to it.”

It was definitely a first when some of those watching on the new WatchLOI platform requested the supporter noise in the stadium be turned DOWN so they could hear RTÉ commentator, Adrian Eames who was perched inside the Stadium bar delivering his verdict.

Following League of Ireland football around the country you learn to expect the unexpected but the sight of a Derry fan standing on a step ladder on the doorstep of his Brandywell Road home looking over the stadium wall was one worthy of the ‘Greatest League in the World’.

And in his role as 'Derry City Supporters' Liaison Officer', Hugh Curran found a novel way to watch a game of football as he stood on a ladder to peek over the wall and check out his team.

Rumours of City fans renting an open top bus to peer into the stadium, like the one which appeared during the sold-out UEFA Cup game against Gretna in 2006, didn’t materialise as most supporters opted to sit in the comfort of their own homes and test out the new streaming platform piloted on the night.

Those City supporters perched on ladders were joined by a group of youths leaning on a fence nearby while a handful of opportunistic fans congregated at the City Cemetery for what must’ve been a restricted view of the pitch.

A few firecrackers were thrown over the wall during the game but they fizzled out as quickly as Derry’s hopes of a comeback in the second half.

As for the match itself the script didn’t go as planned. The form book went out the window as pointless Sligo Rovers bossed and bullied their hosts. Derry, who returned to training a full three weeks before Sligo Rovers, looked lethargic and lacking in ideas.

Sligo, desperate for their first points of the season, looked hungrier. They looked well drilled and physically stronger than their counterparts.

Of course Declan Devine’s team selection and pre-match plans were thrown into disarray just 24 hours before the game as the FAI made a sudden U-turn on the decision to enforce a quarantine period on Derry’s newly signed players who had travelled from England.

It was a grey area and there had been some confusion as to whether Derry’s English signings were exempt from the 14 day self-isolation period imposed by the Irish government.

The game was played in Northern Ireland where England is considered a common travel area and those arriving in the north do not have to self isolate according to the Department of Health NI.

On the night before the game, however, the association sent emails to all Airtricity League clubs warning that should they fail to adhere to the Safer Return to Play protocols and the public health guidelines set out by the ‘Irish government’ they would be hauled over the coals.

So with the threat of disciplinary action hanging over their heads, it wasn’t worth the risk to play some of the new guys who had already undergone a period of self-isolation since joining the club.

You’ve got to feel for Devine as operating from a different jurisdiction so often brings with it numerous disadvantages such as paying VAT on gate receipts, which clubs in the south are not required to pay.

Its geographical location doesn’t make it easy to attract the best players all the time and players can’t claim tax back like their southern counterparts.

Having said that, you can’t take risks when it comes to health and safety and so Devine ensured there was no doubt about his new players’ eligibility.

Of the five new signings only Joe Thomson, who was signed on July 3rd, was given the green light to play and Devine admitted afterwards it had disrupted their game plan and left him without a recognised or proven striker to start the game.

“It was a bit of a surprise they had to quarantine in the first place,” he said. “They’re almost finished their quarantine days but anybody we brought in was from the UK into Northern Ireland so it is what it is.

“No excuses. The bottom line is we didn’t perform well. It wasn’t good enough.”

It didn't take Derry long to rediscover their rhythm as they battled to a convincing win over St Pat's at Richmond Park on Monday night as debutante James Akintunde made an instant impact with a well taken goal before skipper, Conor McCormack fired in a second.

Back to Brandywell and hats off to Billy Scampton and his team, Covid-19 officer, Danny Meenan, PRO Lawrence Moore, who had to accommodate the not so easy to accommodate press crew (although the lack of refreshments was duly noted), and the Derry City office staff including Dodie McGuinness and Emma Friel and all those club volunteers who made the night go without hitch off the pitch.

I'm sure Sunday's big clash with league leaders, Shamrock Rovers will go just as smoothly.

It was nice to be back at the Brandywell but there’s nothing normal about this ‘new normal.’