Nicky Low has urged his Derry City teammates to maintain their emphatic run of form as they prepare for their toughest test of the season at Oriel Park on Friday night. The Foylesiders’ have won seven consecutive games in all competitions, with five
Nicky Low has urged his Derry City teammates to maintain their emphatic run of form as they prepare for their toughest test of the season at Oriel Park on Friday night.
The Foylesiders’ have won seven consecutive games in all competitions, with five of those games contested at The Brandywell.
Low, 26, knows all too well how hard it is to gather momentum in the league and has credited his teammates for turning their season around.
Talking about his side’s recent run of form, Low said: “Yeah, it’s very tough to do that. Obviously, it's a very tight league and there's not much between most teams and everybody knows that.
“The boys have really worked hard in training and I think that has shown on the pitch. It’s evidence of how hard we are working and long may it continue,” he said.
The Lone Moor Road outfit suffered a humiliating 6-1 defeat to Shamrock Rovers on March 9 and Low, who scored his first goal for Derry City on Monday, admitted there were a few choice words said after the loss.
“There was no question people were questioning what was happening during pre-season," he said.
"The start of the season wasn’t good enough and there should have been better performances, but since that day we had a meeting and had a few words said to each other, which has to be done if you’re a footballer, and thankfully we have sorted that,” Low said.
A trip away to Dundalk, who have only conceded one goal this season, will be a mean feat for most sides in the league by the looks of things and Low expects another stern test.
“Every game is big, but when you play the likes of Dundalk you know it’s even bigger because they are at the top of the league, every year, challenging,” he said. “So, it’s another test, and we have had a few tests over the last few weeks and we’ve come through it.
“All the boys are buzzing for it and I think Dundalk know they’ll have a hard game, but so will we. It should be two teams going to play good football and hopefully, we come out on top.”
The Candy Stripes recent change to an artificial surface appears to be paying off with recent results and as they prepare to play on another 3G surface on Friday night, Low believes it could work in their favour.
“I think it is even better for us now to go to Dundalk. Still no excuses, I know Dundalk, obviously, have an advantage playing on it all the time, but it should be an entertaining game and hopefully, it will be a good game of football.”
