Manager Lynch Confident Despite Poor Run
Derry City manager Tiernan Lynch expressed strong belief in his ability to improve the team's current form amid increasing pressure. The Candystripes have accumulated only 22 points from their 20 Premier Division matches this season.
The team recently suffered a 2-1 defeat to Dundalk at Oriel Park, extending their winless streak in the league to seven games. Currently, Derry City sits in sixth place, trailing league leaders Shamrock Rovers by 18 points, despite preseason expectations that they would contend for the title.
"I reflect every day. I don't need a break to reflect. As I said and continue to say, I look at everything that we do and the one thing I have to do is I have to keep believing that I can turn this around,"Lynch told BBC Radio Foyle.
"I do firmly believe I can turn this around and I know, nobody wants to hear it right now, we've just lost. If it's a matter of me reflecting, I don't think anyone needs to worry about me reflecting.
"Straight away we need wins. Dominant performances and dominating possession, that's all definitely the way I want my team to play and definitely what I think the fans want to watch, but we've got to score goals.
"It's been hugely frustrating with lots of things going on, we've got to win games, that's the bottom line."
Dundalk Defeat Extends Winless Run
The loss at Oriel Park leaves Derry City 18 points behind Shamrock Rovers at the top of the table. Dundalk took the lead in the 20th minute when Daryl Horgan scored by firing beyond Derry goalkeeper Eddie Beach.
Derry responded in the 58th minute with Cameron Dummigan leveling the score through a remarkable volley from outside the penalty area. However, just two minutes later, Dundalk regained the lead through Gbemi Arubi, handing the Candystripes their sixth defeat of the campaign.
Lynch Reflects on Match and Team Performance
Lynch described the defeat as "really hard to take" and admitted to feeling "obviously disappointed and frustrated" by the result.
"The first half an hour of the game we were pinned back. I thought the second half we were much better, we changed our formation, we got a better handle of the game and we got ourselves back in the game,"he explained.
"Then we conceded again, so early and it was a game that we felt if we could get one to get ourselves back in, we really would have kicked on from there because, as I say, I thought we were a lot more dominant at that stage.
"We huffed and puffed but we didn't cause them enough problems. We had plenty of possession and got into good areas but we didn't work the goalkeeper enough and that's frustrating.
"The chances that they did create, they scored from. It's just really hard to swallow."
