Derry City have announced the termination of Ruaidhrí Higgins contract after his 4th year at the club. The Northern Irish native has been relieved of his duties after a 2-0 loss to Drogheda United in the FAI Cup Final.
A brief bit of history.
Ruaidhrí took over the managerial role in April of 2021. He joined the club after working with the Republic of Ireland national team. He took the candystripes from nearing the bottom to a respectable top half finish in his first year in charge.
In his second season in charge in 2022, he led Derry City to an impressive second place finish in the league. This finish secured them European football for the next season, a huge achievement, and a far cry from where they were at the start of the previous season. Another noteworthy event that year was when Higgins lead the team to win the FAI Cup Final against Shelbourne, winning 4-0 and bringing some silverware back to the Brandywell.
2023 was another great year for Ruaidhrí, grabbing second place in the league again, and also securing Europe for another season. Most notably, they were in a title race with Shamrock Rovers for a great part of the year.
Where did it all go wrong?
There are 3 main factors which led to Ruaidhrí getting his contract terminated by the club. They are his performance in the league, Europe and the FAI cup.
A chance to win the league missed.
The league was often regarded throughout the year as a “two horse race” between Derry City and Shelbourne. The disappointing thing about this league is that in this “two horse race” they managed to finish 4th. Shelbourne were the leaders for the majority of the year, Derry only managing to jump over them a handful of times. After their two European matches they struggled to find form for the end of the year, which led to Shamrock Rovers and St. Pats catching up on them. This downward spiral led to them bowing out of the title race with a game to go after a loss away to St. Pats. But worse, to add insult to injury, their league rivals all year, Shelbourne, defeated them in the Brandywell with a goal in the 85th minute to secure their first title in 18 years. This league campaign was mediocre. Their 4th place finish meant they did not automatically qualify for Europe next year and would need to defeat Drogheda United in the FAI Cup Final for them to qualify.
European hurdles.
Derry City’s performance in Europe was frustrating for fans. They were drawn against Bruno’s Magpies, a pub team in Gibraltar founded in 2013. An east fixture, right? Derry City lost 2-3 on aggregate, a 2-0 loss away to them and a 2-1 win at home. This was discouraging for many fans of the candystripes. After this match, they went on a downward spiral in the league which would eventually lead to them not being able to keep up in the title race.
Drogheda’s fairytale, Derry’s demise.
Derry had a good run in the cup making it to the final where they would face Drogheda United. Derry went in as the heavy favourites for this match. Drogheda United managed to pull off a major upset, defeating the candystripes 2-0 in the FAI Cup Final. An Andrew Quinn goal and a Douglas James Taylor penalty sent the cup win to the blue and claret army. This defeat was considered unacceptable by many.
The last straw.
The FAI Cup Final loss is the last nail in the coffin for a terrible season at the Brandywell, it was also the final nail in the coffin of Ruaidhrí Higgins’ managerial position at Derry City. The defeat would mark the end of his 4 year reign at the candystripes. A bittersweet ending for Ruaidhrí, an impressive first 3 years and a downfall in his last.
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Thanks for reading!
Matt