Tiernan Lynch sees 'catalyst' for revival as Derry battle back in Dublin

​TIERNAN Lynch hopes Derry City's battling performance in the 1-1 draw at St Patrick's Athletic can prove to be a 'catalyst' for a major upturn in form during the final stretch of the season.

James Clarke's stunning second half strike cancelled out a dubious penalty decision awarded to the home side when Darragh Nugent was adjudged to have been fouled by Brian Maher after 26 minutes. Aidan Keena blasted in the spotkick to give the Dubliners the advantage.

Up until that point Derry, appearing to suffer from a European hangover, had weathered an early storm from the home side but a quadruple change in the second half changed the match's momentum.

Clarke's unstoppable left-footed strike into the top corner of the net on 72 minutes earned a share of the spoils for the Candy Stripes who looked most likely to take maximum points as Jamie Lennon cleared Adam O'Reilly's shot off the line while Derry pushed for a winner.

It was the third successive draw between the two teams. Derry remains 14 points behind Stephen Kenny's side, who once again failed to pick up any ground on league leaders Shamrock Rovers who were held by Drogheda United on Friday night.

Three days after their Uefa Conference League exit at the hands of Croatian side HNK Rijeka, it was an encouraging second-half display from Lynch's troops who remain in sixth position after a 12th draw of the league campaign.

Lynch admitted he had 'mixed emotions' after the final whistle given the nature of the controversial penalty decision which put his team on the backfoot.

The Belfast man now hopes the display can spark a turnaround in fortunes as they look to climb the table with 10 games remaining.

"I thought the players were excellent as far as work rate, commitment, togetherness," said the Derry boss. "The first half there was probably an element of that old European hangover as they call it.

"We didn't really get going. We huffed, we puffed. I'm hugely disappointed in the penalty that was given. I'm not going to blame referees or finger point but from looking back at it from a couple of different angles, it definitely doesn't look like a penalty.

"So we're hugely disappointed in the goal we conceded in that manner. I don't for the life of me see where Rob (Harvey) gets that. I know it's a difficult job and I don't want to stand here and be critical but we're hugely disappointed it was given.

"I thought in the second half we looked like a completely different team. It was such a big physical performance on Thursday night, and I thought we finished the game stronger and looked like the team that was going to go on and win the game."

Following a summer of fresh investment and a recruitment drive overseen by Director of Football Mark Connolly who was present at Inchicore, Lynch was delighted to have the squad capable of changing the game.

His quadruple substitution on 66 minutes changed the flow of the match and allowed him the opportunity to play with two recognised strikers in a game for the first time this season.

Liam Boyce and debutante Tyler Smith came on alongside Patrick McClean and Barry Cotter as Derry clawed their way back into the contest.

"This was maybe the first time we've been able to make changes like that in the league," said Lynch. "We've been very light on bodies but I think today's changes completely changed the game.

"We actually got to go two up top. We spent long periods without a striker and to get two of them on the pitch made all the difference.

"Great credit to Tyler. He's someone who hasn't played a huge amount of minutes but you could see the kid's going to get better.

"We'd still like to get one or two in and build on this. So I'm proud of them. I'm proud of their commitment. That badge meant everything to them. That's the culture we're trying to build so great credit to them.

"There were a lot of tired legs out there. A lot of people put in a huge shift on Thursday night and then did another huge shift in the first half. It's all about squads and they're a really good honest bunch of boys and deserve better than where they're at right now. I just hope we can use today as a little bit of a catalyst to move on."

Lynch also paid special mention to his goalkeeper who made a string of important saves and whom he felt was wrongly penalised for that contentious first half spot-kick.

"I don't think Brian did give away a penalty," he said. "I don't think it was a penalty. I think Brian made the save and the referee gave a penalty. I thought Brian was magnificent and made some really great stops. Hopefully that's him getting back to where he was.

"They're a really honest bunch of boys. We probably haven't had all the breaks we deserved this year. That's not making excuses. “We've also been very 'choppy-changey' with our teams. We haven't had a settled back three, four or back five whatever that may be. Obviously Brian has been out for eight months so there's been so much going on. I think this is a team that can be a really exciting team, and hopefully we can build on today."

Derry almost hit the front during the opening 10 minutes when ex-Saints winger Darragh Burns;' cross into the penalty area was met by a glancing header from Clarke which forced Joseph Anang to tip over the crossbar.

The visitors then soaked up a wave of pressure and Maher pushed away Kian Leavy's left-footed strike after the Pat's dangerman had turned past Brandon Fleming.

Then came that controversial penalty decision from referee, Rob Harvey. Keena's free-kick was sent into a crowded area and when the ball fell to Nugent in the six yard box the midfielder got his shot away which was blocked by Maher who was penalised for a late challenge.

Keena slammed the ball down the middle to make it 1-0 much to the disbelief of the Derry keeper and the visiting bench.

Pat’s started the second-half in the ascendancy with Maher stopping an effort from Ryan Edmondson, before also pushing away a brilliant free-kick from Keena as Derry barely held onto their 1-0 deficit.

Lynch made those four midway through the second-half in an attempt to re-energise his team after their European exertions in midweek, but it was Clarke, who dragged the visitors back into the game on 71 minutes.

A ball into the area was only half cleared by the Pats’ defence and Clarke brought it down just outside the area, before taking a touch and powering an blistering effort into the top corner for his sixth goal of the season. All of a sudden it was Pat’s on the back foot, and Cotter forced Anang to tip the ball over the bar after taking on and beating Brown on the edge of the area.

Derry finished the stronger but were unable to force a winner, and it is now just two wins in their last 13 league games for Lynch and his players, who next face Sligo Rovers at the Brandywell on Friday.

St Pat’s: Anang, Redmond, Hoare, Turner, Brown (Breslin 64) Lennon, Nugent (Sheridan 82), McClelland, Leavy (Baggley 45), Keena (Olusanya 73), Edmondson.

Derry City: Maher, Fleming (Slevin 90), Stott, Barr (Smith 67), Lyons-Foster, Twisk, Duffy (Boyce 67), Ellis Chapman (P McClean 67), O’Reilly, Burns (Cotter 67), Clarke (Olayinka 80).

Ref: Rob Harvey (Dublin)