Derry City crashed out of the Europa League last night after a 4-1 defeat at The Showgrounds against Danish opposition FC Midtjylland, who won 10-2 on aggregate. The Danish outfit outclassed Derry City in every department and fully deserved their wi
Derry City crashed out of the Europa League last night after a 4-1 defeat at The Showgrounds against Danish opposition FC Midtjylland, who won 10-2 on aggregate.
The Danish outfit outclassed Derry City in every department and fully deserved their win on the night.
The Candystripes, who had nothing to lose after a 6-1 thrashing in Herning last week, started brightly and they took the game to FC Midtjylland in the opening minutes.
That bravery didn't do much to improve The Foylesiders situation as the Herning side easily exploited a makeshift Derry defence, who were without an injured Aaron Barry, and scored within seven minutes.
Paul Onuachu put Midtjylland into the lead with a side-footed effort, which ended up in the bottom corner of the net, after a clever low cross from Andre Rømer.
The Wolves almost extended their aggregate lead by yet another goal two minutes later. Andre Rømer didn't waste any time running at a nervous looking Derry defence. The defenders 25-yard strike almost crept into the same corner as the first but the ball went out for a goal kick.
The game fizzed out for a short period before Onuachu was on the tails of the Derry defence again. The six-foot-five striker produced a fine touch inside the Derry half and jetted towards Gerard Doherty’s penalty area.
However, the Nigerian failed to produce a goal this time, as his feeble effort glided right into the arms of Gerard Doherty.
After 24 minutes, Doherty found himself in an awkward position after coming to clear the ball outside the box. The Derry captain was in a race against a goal hungry Onuachu and he failed to clear his lines comfortably.
Janus Drachmann had a golden opportunity from distance, with Doherty off his line, but the midfielder failed to capitalise.
The Superliga side extended their lead after 37 minutes and it was Paul Onuachu again. The striker easily finished his second goal of the match with another low cross, this time from a corner kick.
The Candystripes didn't put their heads down though and pulled one back just before half-time.
A scramble in the Midtjylland defence gifted Aaron McEneff an opportunity on goal and the Derry boy didn’t need to be asked twice before slotting it past Hansen.
If the Derry faithful thought it wouldn't get much worse they were wrong. The second half didn't start much better for The Candystripes and The Wolves almost inflicted more misery on the home support just after the interval.
Jacob Poulsen found Onuachu perfectly inside the box and he would have got his third if it weren’t for a Gerard Doherty spectacular.
However, it didn't take long before Midtjylland were celebrating again and this time it was Gustav Wikheim with Midtjylland's third.
The attacking midfielder was only on the pitch three minutes, but he took his opportunity calmly, despite Gerard Doherty getting a hand to the effort before it rolled in.
Gustav Wikheim was making a big impact on the pitch, despite only being on 10 minutes, and he put it on a plate for Onuachu to get his hat-trick after 69 minutes.
Luckily for The Foylesiders, there were no more goals in the last 20 minutes of play. It's the Brandywell club's biggest ever European defeat and a lot of lessons will be learned by Kenny Shiels and his young Derry side for future European ties in the years to come. .
