Jamie McDonagh has urged his Derry City teammates to keep their nerve ahead of Friday's clash with Waterford after the Candystripes got their first victory in four games against Bray Wanderers on Monday night. The Lone Moor Road outfit now find them
Jamie McDonagh has urged his Derry City teammates to keep their nerve ahead of Friday's clash with Waterford after the Candystripes got their first victory in four games against Bray Wanderers on Monday night. The Lone Moor Road outfit now find themselves three points behind Waterford, who currently sit in third, and McDonagh believes it was crucial for City to pick up three-salient-points ahead of their European dog-fight with last years First Division winners. “We just needed to get the win (against Bray Wanderers) because in previous games we have gone a goal up and we’ve switched off and conceded goals straight away. “We just said to ourselves tonight, once we score, we’ll sit back, keep it tight, and try and get the second and three-points was very important for us especially going into the game on Friday against a strong Waterford side,” he said. Waterford has already managed to beat the likes of Dundalk, Cork City and Derry City this season at the Regional Sports Centre, but the Blues have also managed to match the Candystripes recent poor form having only collected two points from their last four league outings. However, McDonagh is under no illusions ahead of the fixture and is expecting a tough test against Alan Reynolds' side this weekend. "Yes - it was very important for us to get the three points and go into Waterford with some confidence. We know that it is going to be a hard game and a tough ask, but it is going to be a different game than it was at the start of the season because we are a completely different team now. "Hopefully the conditions will be a bit better this time and we'll go into it and give one-hundred per cent and try and get the win," McDonagh said. Monday’s clash almost produced a contender for goal of the season when McDonagh tried an audacious effort from his own half that unluckily bounced off the post but the midfielder was modestly frustrated after the game. “Gavin Peers told me to look at the goalkeeper and there was a delay because the ref was holding (the free-kick) back a little bit. I knew as soon as I hit it, it was over the goalkeeper but it hit the post and I was quite raging it didn’t go in because it was quite a good effort.” McDonagh, 22, has played a pivotal role in Kenny Shiels recent plans after being omitted from the squad for large periods this season and he admitted he is delighted to be getting an opportunity once again in the starting eleven despite having to play in several positions. “It’s difficult when you’re in that situation when you see other players out on the pitch, and you just want to get on and start games. My chance came tonight and I'm happy with my performance and I'm hoping Kenny (Shiels) is quite happy as well."
