3-0 down seemingly already out many fans had given up on the Setanta Sports Cup after the first leg performance. Only 50 or so Hoops travelled up to the Brandywell for this one and we had a small bit of optimism on the drive believing that we were going to witness one of our greatest comebacks of all time.
After only 5 minutes the comeback was nearly underway but Twigg missed a great chance when one on one with Doherty and an early goal really would have made things interesting. We started the game playing 3-5-2 and it was a change welcomed by the fans as we went for the game right from the off. Unfortunately we lost Oman before the break with an injury and lost an attacking threat from set pieces as a result. Despite our dominance first half we went in 0-0 at the break and we felt the Setanta Cup slipping away from us.
An early second half goal from Twiggy gave us a glimmer of hope and we pushed on in search of a second to set-up an exciting finale, we eventually got it when Twigg scrambled home his second of the game with seven minutes remaining but we never really created another chance after that and despite the spirited performance we ran out 3-2 losers over the two legs and Derry will o play Crusaders in the final in the Oval on May 12th.
Despite the loss of the tie we went home happy in the knowledge that we gave it a go and we were all impressed with the 3-5-2 system which Derry failed to deal with. The 3 centre backs of Gartland, Sives and Hawkins played well and we all felt that a similar set-up on Friday in the league against Derry would be our best option.
Keep on Hooping!
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