'We let ourselves down last week ... tonight is about putting that right' - Derry City aiming for redemption
Brian Maher insists Derry can pull off a European miracle tonight.
Brian Maher has revealed Derry’s hopes of a miracle European comeback are still alive.
The Candystripes' bid to launch another summer of European fun looked DEAD and BURIED when they crashed 2-0 to Gibraltar side Magpies, last Thursday.
But since then a combination of harsh words and hard training has changed the mentality of the dressing room.
And the 2022 FAI Cup winners, and last year’s League runners up, now believe they can become the first Irish club in history to overcome a 2-0 first-leg deficit and progress through a European tie.
Keeper Maher said: “We were very, very disappointed in the dressing room after last Thursday and there were words that had to be had.
“We knew it wasn’t good enough but as soon as we came back into training, we knew we had to put the defeat behind us as there is no point sitting here and thinking about it, it’s all about how we can put it right.
“Overcoming that deficit is absolutely achievable.
“We won every home game in Europe last year, if we do that we’re halfway there. Look, we’re going to have a game plan, we know we have to score goals.
“We have the best home record in this league, there is nothing to fear, we had 90 minutes against them and we didn’t show up and despite all that we still created chances and should have scored.
“We just need to give them the respect they deserve but also know we can hurt them.
“Because the thing is, we didn’t just let the fans down last week, we let ourselves down, too. And we aim to rectify that.”
Aside from salvaging pride, as well as a Cup tie, there is also the memory of how last summer evolved, as City went through two rounds and enjoyed some barnstorming European nights across a six-week period - one of the highlights, Maher says, of his career.
He said: “It was amazing. We want to continue European football into next week. It’s hard to look past Thursday’s match because we are in a difficult position but we want to continue on and give people memories.
“People are still talking about last year so we have a chance to have another great night in the Brandywell on Thursday.
“Being in Europe is brilliant for the club. It’s been some of the best experiences I have had at the club, whether it's been the wins or the losses, you learn a lot from them. It’s hard not to see it as a massive opportunity.”
But last week’s sorry effort in Gibraltar was a tale of missed opportunities - Derry underperforming, Magpies punishing them accordingly.
Maher said: “We were nowhere near our top level, we all spoke about it.
“We just gave away poor goals and got penned in a little bit with the wind.
“But on the flip side the positives we took was that we should have scored in that game from numerous chances.
“Overall we came off thinking we gave away really poor goals. If you are not going to play well over there, just don’t get beaten.”
Yet they were beaten and now they have 90 minutes to make amends, with Maher calling on the Derry faithful to roar them onto glory.
He said: “We will just be looking to score the first goal, get everyone up and see how they take to it. Last year it dragged us over the line, in the Torshavn and KUPS games in the Brandywell the atmosphere was huge.
“If we get the first goal, it will get the fans up for us, and all the momentum will hopefully be with us then and be a totally different game.
“Last year some of the best nights we had were in Europe; people still speak about them, so we want more of them.”
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