In last week's preview, I looked at Sligo and Derry's chances of progressing to the next round of the Uefa Europa Conference League and thought that the Bit O' Red had landed the favourable draw while the Candystripes faced a challenge against Riga.
Rovers fans celebrate in Oswestry. Photo: Sligo Rovers Facebook
Like the draw, the results from last Thursday night were the inverse of each other's. Sligo came away from Oswestry in Wales with a 2-1 victory over Bala Town and now look in with a very good chance of moving on. The game was not without its fair share of scares for Rovers, Lassana Mendes giving the Welsh side an early lead with a cracking strike. However, a lovely dink from Aidan Keena had them back on terms and Max Mata added the decisive winning goal. With ten minutes left on the clock though, Sligo were reduced to ten men as Nando Pijnacker saw red for hauling down a Bala Town attacker who had dispossessed him. John Russell's men did manage to hold out though, much to the delight of the hundreds of Sligo fans in attendance. Having come out the right side of the more difficult away leg, the tie is very much in Sligo's hands and with a packed Showgrounds, I think they are now in with an excellent chance of a trip to Motherwell next week.
Unfortunately, the same cannot be said about Derry City. I have to admit that I was very disappointed in both the performance and the result last Thursday night. While the dismissal of Matty Smith (which I will return to momentarily) made the game all the more difficult, I felt Derry were far from their best even beforehand. Riga was always going to be a tough ask for Ruairdhí Higgins' men but I thought that a partisan crowd backing them in the Brandywell would be enough to ensure that the tie was very much still alive.
Smith's dismissal appeared very harsh. Photo: Sportsfile
While comparisons can be harsh as the strength of a team can vary greatly from year to year, Riga fell to a 1-0 home defeat to Shamrock Rovers' Champions League opponents, Hibernians last year, a team the Hoops looked far superior to last week. They needed extra time in Ta' Qali to eventually overcome the Maltese. With that in mind, I had hoped for Derry to do better, particularly at home, but it was perhaps unfair of me to assume that the Latvians would not have improved also.
I have seen people on social media and in articles discussing the "mountain" that Derry have to climb. I think the term herculean task is probably more apt in describing the Candystripes' prospects in the Latvian capital this week.
Many Derry fans will point to the decision of Icelandic referee Vilhjálmur Alvar Þórarinsson to send Matty Smith off as a decisive moment both in the game and in the tie overall and it is hard to disagree. To me, the red card is nothing short of ludicrous and an extremely big decision to have gone against the Irish side. How the official came to the conclusion of a red card for the Scotsman and not Glody Ngonda when the two clashed is baffling and City supporters will argue that the consequences of Þórarinsson's decision are far reaching, possibly making the tie untenable. While I would argue that a sending off is harsh for either, if one received his marching orders, the other should also have as their actions were very similar.
That said, I think the red card probably does highlight a problem with League of Ireland teams in Europe. On Tuesday night, we saw Rory Gaffney avoid a deserved red card for kicking out while both Derry and Sligo finished their respective matches with ten men on the pitch. The one thing that all three incidents have in common is that they are completely needless and preventable. How deserved a red card is is subjective but none of the three needed to do what they did. Rory Gaffney had been fouled and won a free kick while the linesman had given the decision Derry's way before Smith got involved with Ngonda. Many would say that Pijnacker had no choice but to take Dave Edwards down to prevent a goal chance but the chance itself came from the New Zealander not simply clearing the ball.
Unfortunately, League of Ireland clubs need to realise that refereeing decisions in Uefa competitions will frequently favour the bigger side and will often go against us as a result. I am in no way criticising the passion of all three players, who were reacting to representing their club on the European stage but I think that passion must be harnessed. Preventable red cards, however harsh they may be, are not something our clubs need in Europe.
So overall, what am I expecting from our clubs this week? I would be very confident of Shamrock Rovers finishing the job they started last week, considering they head to Malta with a three goal cushion. I also think Sligo Rovers should have enough to beat Bala Town at home. With an away win secured, their fate is very much in their own hands and I would be disappointed to see them lose the tie in Sligo. I already discussed the complexity of the task facing the Candystripes. However, it does present them with a very small opportunity as it is a completely free shot for Higgins and his men. If they can get an early goal, really rattle the hosts in the first half, who knows what could happen?
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