Ryan’s death casts shadow over Cork tie
A shadow has been cast over Dundalk’s crunch clash away to Cork City in Turner’s Cross on Saturday (kick-off 3pm, live on RTÉ Two) by the sudden passing of Derry City captain Ryan McBride at his home on Sunday evening.
The 27-year-old had scored for the Candystripes in their 3-1 win over Stephen Kenny’s side at Maginn Park in Buncrana just six days earlier while he had also lined out for his hometown club in their 4-0 victory over Drogheda Utd just 24 hours before his passing.
While his death has shocked the league as a whole, it has had an immediate impact on a number of the Dundalk squad who knew him well.
Stephen Kenny was manager of Derry when McBride made his debut in 2011 while fellow Derry natives Patrick McEleney and Michael Duffy are former teammates, as well current coach and analyst Ruaidhrí Higgins and Niclas Vemmelund, who spent last season at The Brandywell.
A large number of the Dundalk squad are expected to attend McBride’s funeral in Derry this Thursday while many have donated to a GoFundMe campaign to raise money for Ryan’s family to help them with funeral expenses and other matters.
Stephen Kenny, a confirmed admirer of McBride both as a person and player, must try in the coming days to get his side’s minds focused on football again in the wake of tragedy.
That is likely to be a major challenge. While most Dundalk players were understandably shocked at his sudden passing on Sunday, it has been particularly tough on those who knew the defender best.
Vemmelund took to Instagram with the following message: ‘It was a pleasure to play with you and getting to know you. There will never be a legend and skipper as you again. R.I.P #captainfantastic #dcfc’
Those comments were echoed by Derry native Duffy, who said on Twitter: ‘Absolutely devastating news, he was a legend on and off the pitch who’ll be sadly missed, thoughts with his family and all the Derry boys.’
Dundalk goalkeeper and PFAI chairman Gary Rogers admitted everyone had been left numb by the tragedy.
‘We are all just stunned,’ he said.
‘We have a few Derry lads in our dressing room who knew him better than we did but it’s a shock to us all and is a reminder that life is so precious.’
Stephen Kenny was at the FAI International Awards at RTÉ stu- dios in Donnybrook on Sunday when word broke of McBride’s demise.
Players Dane Massey, David McMillan, Stephen O’Donnell and Brian Gartland had just collected a Special Merit Award for their achievements in Europe last season while former star Daryl Horgan picked up the SSE Airtricity League Player of the Season award and Georgie Poynton, on loan at Bohemians, the U-19 International Player of the Year award.
It was a night of celebration that quickly turned sour with Kenny refusing to believe the news at first.
He told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland: ‘I was at the FAI awards and the word came through that Ryan was dead. I couldn’t believe it. These days anything is possible with social media and so forth so I actually didn’t believe it when I heard the news.
‘Last week we brought Dundalk up to play Derry City in Buncrana and he scored the winning goal. He scored a headed goal from a corner kick, which is his trademark, and I shook hands with him and was chatting to him. I can’t believe the news.’
Kenny described the 27-yearold as ‘a ferociously brave player, the bravest I’ve ever seen on a football pitch’ and someone who ‘wore his heart on his sleeve.’
While football takes a back seat at times like these, Dundalk will be aware they have an opportunity to go level with Cork City with a win at Turner’s Cross on Saturday.
A minute’s applause will take place in McBride’s memory in the fifth minute to honour his jersey number and speaking after the victory over St Patrick’s Athletic on Saturday Kenny insisted his side had nothing to fear going head to head with John Caulfield’s side.
‘We can approach it with confidence,’ he said.
‘It’s one that we don’t need to be fearful of. We’re the league champions on merit and when the big games come along we always seem to be able to produce a performance to win.
‘Cork beat us twice last year in the league it must be said but I think overall in the three games we were much the better team and we showed that here in the two games in Oriel. We lost the first one but we dominated and the second one we won convincingly.
‘Over the last six games in the last two seasons in the league we have a better record. Not so much in the President’s Cup but certainly in the league games and we can take that confidence into Turner’s Cross next week.
‘We’ll go to Cork in a very clear frame of mind that we want to go and take the game to Cork.’
Dundalk will have a full selection to choose from bar captain Stephen O’Donnell, who is a few weeks away from a first-team return still, and Shane Grimes who is still recovering from the hamstring injury he suffered last October. Steven Kinsella is also a slight doubt.
Chris Shields and David McMillan did return as substitutes in the win over Pat’s but Kenny hinted their involvement could be limited to the sub’s bench for the foreseeable future.
‘We had a behind closed doors match the other night here on Wednesday and for Chris Shields and David McMillan that was their first game since Israel so it was great for them to get the 90 minutes and then to come on tonight. Getting them up to speed now though won’t be easy,’ he said.
It also won’t be easy to switch his side’s attention back to football on Saturday. The biggest game of the season to date might be taking place in the south west but the thoughts of most will at times be 306 miles north in Derry.