McClean has done his stuff in Wexford

ONE OF the best examples of P.R. during our Euro adventures was the photograph taken in France of the eight former League of Ireland players in the squad wearing their old club jerseys.

Ex Derry City man James McClean was among that group, and the match programme for the game in the Brandywell on Friday reminded us that Ireland’s all-action midfielder had previously done his stuff in Ferrycarrig Park.

Indeed, when the sides met for the first time in the league at the Crossabeg venue on April 18, 2010, McClean scored one of the Derry goals in a 5-1 victory. It was a significant one too, the Candystripes’ 1,100th in the competition.

Six months later Derry City made the long journey south once more, and McClean rattled the net again as another notable landmark was reached: the Foylesiders’ 150th league draw away from home, thanks to a goal from Gary Sheahan for Youths.

There was a direct link to Friday’s clash in the Brandywell as McClean’s younger brother, Patrick, was an unused substitute for the home side.

The clubs have now met six times in all, including four in the league with Youths just claiming that one point six years ago and losing the other three games including both this season.

Their first clash was in the EA Sports Cup final of 2008 in Ferrycarrig Park which Derry won 6-1, and Youths’ sole success was in the FAI Cup at the same venue in 2011 when a Danny Furlong hat-trick inflicted a 4-1 defeat, Derry’s heaviest in four years.

For the record, the other League of Ireland players on the international squad were Wes Hoolahan (Shelbourne), Seamus Coleman (Sligo Rovers), Stephen Ward (Bohemians), Daryl Murphy (Waterford United), Shane Long and David Meyler (both Cork CIty) and Stephen Quinn (St. Patrick’s Athletic).