HOOPS’ HOPES!
Higgins: I’d give it all up for the cup
But Hennessy was convinced that Grace was the aggressor and he was quick to wave his red card in the face of the disbelieving defender.
Rovers were handed a lifeline when Patching’s spot-kick hit almost the same part of the crossbar as Dummigan’s earlier effort.
But a goal down and a man down, and forced into taking off striker Aaron Greene for defensive midfielder Gary O’Neill, the odds were still stacked very much against them.
They needed someone to aggressively take the game to City after the break.
That man was right-wingback Neil Farrugia. Very much subdued in the first-half, the former UCD man was electrifying from early on in the second.
He declared his intentions with a couple of runs deep into Derry territory shortly after the restart.
Goalwards
Byrne too was looking much sharper and his lofted pass on 57 minutes invited Gaffney to drive goalwards from a tight angle. His shot was gathered by Maher.
But it was Farrugia’s energy that finally brought the two sides back to parity in the 66th minute.
He skipped past two challenges on the left, raised his head and picked out Byrne with a low pull-back.
The midfielder’s shot was parried by Maher, but only into the path of Gaffney, who drilled the ball into the net from close range.
Gaffney’s goal was enough to take the game to extra-time, a period where Derry finally began to reassert their numerical advantage 10-man Rovers.
It took the hosts just six minutes to regain the lead when substitute Lafferty rose above O’Neill and headed home from a Michael Duffy corner.
Just three yards from goal, Lafferty might have expected a challenge from Hoops goalkeeper Pohls, but the German opted to remain on his line.
The result was put beyond doubt 10 minutes from the end when sub Kavanagh raced onto James Akintunde’s pass, cut in from the right and fired low inside the near post.
DERRY CITY boss Ruaidhri Higgins says he would swap all his honours as a player for glory as a manager in this year’s FAI Cup.
The Ryan McBride Brandywell supremo has collected a stunning list of medals, including a Premier Division title, two FAI Cups and six League Cups.
But in his first full season in charge of the Candystripes, he is just 90 minutes at home to First Division Treaty United away from reaching the Blue Riband final.
Pitted
Last night’s draw, which took place immediately after Derry’s 3-1 extra-time win over Shamrock Rovers, also pitted Waterford at home to Shelbourne.
Higgins said: “We have a job to do in the semi-final. It would mean the world to me.
“I’d trade all of my players’ medals in to pick up a winners medal at this club.
“It means a lot more (as manager), it’s probably the responsibility of it. I’m very proud to manage this club.
“Nothing would make me prouder than winning a major trophy with this club.
“It’s a special club, that’s why I came here. Hopefully we have plenty of good nights to come. Treaty at home in the semi-final, we need to remain focused and kick on.”
Higgins admitted it was tougher than it needed to be to get past 10-man Rovers.
“We don’t make it easy for ourselves. If we go in at half-time 2-0 up and they’re down to ten-men, they may not have the belief they had in the second half,” he said, referencing Will Patching’s first-half penalty miss.
“It was a great goal by Danny (Lafferty), and a fantastic strike from Brandon (Kavanagh).”
Hoops boss Stephen Bradley, meanwhile, was deeply disappointed by the decision by referee Rob Hennessy to send off Lee Grace.
“I thought first-half we were lucky to still be in the game,” said Bradley. “Derry could have been two or three up, maybe more.
“But when we went down to 10 men we were excellent, we were really good.
“But the start, the same on Thursday night and the same tonight, was nowhere near good enough.
“It happened on Thursday night, we were two-down after 20 minutes, and tonight we were three-down after 30 minutes. It’s definitely something we need to address.”
As for the penalty and red card, he added: “I think it’s really poor on both fronts. They come together, it’s nowhere near a penalty.
“Then the sending off, I think we had Rob against Bohs and he did something similar, he sent someone off for very little. It was a really poor decision from my point of view.”