Updated: Friday, 03 Oct 2014 16:38 | Comments
By Ed Leahy
There was a real buzz about the Brandywell at the beginning of the season as a new era was dawning at Derry City.
The Rod Squad were in town and, while not seen as an obvious match, the loudest character in Irish football had arrived at one of the biggest clubs on the island – it certainly caught the imagination.
It also led to one of the selection explanations of the year from the gaffer as things didn't quite go to plan for the former Bohemians and Shamrock Rovers boss.
Collins dropped top striker Rory Patterson, sending him off to play with the reserves, using the logic that the team were not creating enough chances to justify the goalscorer's inclusion.
Needless to say, the fledgling relationship was now looking like the odd couple as it started to untangle at an alarming rate and Collins departed soon after.
Candystripes hero Peter Hutton was pushed up the food chain to take over the first team, but the league campaign was already stretched beyond its elastic limit and could not be salvaged.
But now, as the memorable (for all the wrong reasons) 2014 campaign comes to a close, City can yet finish with some silverware as they sit on the brink of an outing at the Aviva in this year's FAI Ford Cup, facing Shamrock Rovers in Sunday's semi-final at Tallaght Stadium.
"It's just going to be a battle from the start"
Hutton has brought the confidence and the traditional attacking football back to the Derry side and forward Patrick McEleney believes that the new manager has made a huge difference since taking over.
"Peter has obviously brought things back together and I have a lot of confidence playing under him," McEleney told RTÉ Sport. "And I'm sure a lot of players will say that, but it's been a disruptive season."
And McEleney sees many similarities between City's season and Sunday's opponents Rovers, and as a result, Derry know that they face a very tricky task to secure their place in the final.
McEleney said: "Sunday is massive and that's what we are playing for. Rovers are a good side and Pat Fenlon seems to have united them since he came in and a lot of their top players have been lifted.
"It's just going to be a battle from the start. They're going to come out flying so we'll see how we get through the first 20 minutes or so and then it will open up a bit."
City are the away side in Sunday's encounter and while McEleney admits that it gives Rovers a slight advantage, he is not too concerned and still believes that the Candystripes have a great chance to advance.
"Tallaght is an unbelievable stadium and an unbelievable pitch," said the Derry front man. "Their fans are brilliant and we're going to bring a lot of fans down.
"Obviously, they have a slight advantage but it's still a great pitch so I have no worries about it. It would even it out a bit if it was a neutral venue."
And while McEleney does not want to look beyond Sunday's semi-final, he is certainly excited about the potential prospect of an encounter with north-west rivals Finn Harps at the Aviva.
"It would be brilliant. Finn Harps are not going to lie down. They're going to give them [St Pat's] a game."
FAI Cup semi-finals
Watch Shamrock Rovers v Derry City live on RTÉ2 and worldwide on RTÉ Player on Sunday 5 October (kick-off 3.55pm)
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