League Preview: Derry City -v- Dundalk

• Patrick O'Connor
• Fri, Feb 13 2026

DERRY CITY

Derry City will look to continue their good start to the 2026 season when they entertain newly promoted Dundalk at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on Friday night, KO 7.45pm.

Expectations are very high in the Oak Leaf County this season and nothing less than a league title will satisfy their beleaguered supporters.

However, there was little evidence to support those expectations for long periods of their opening match of the season against Sligo Rovers at their home venue last Friday night.

The Candystripes trailed to a 33^rd minute Jad Hadiki goal and struggled to make a real imprint on the game until the final ten minutes of the game.

It took until the 83^rd minute for Tiernan Lynch’s men to get an equaliser through an Alex Bannon shot and when they did pile on immense pressure as the game drew to a close, they eventually notched a 90^th minute winner courtesy of Swansea City loanee Josh Thomas.

City had one of the highest turnovers of players in the close season, with practically an entire squad of 23 players leaving and 15 new players arriving.

The arrival of an expensively assembled new squad is no doubt fuelling those high expectations, and with the added advantage of having there first four games at home, they are well placed to at least get a winning run going in the first month of the season. 

Derry City manager Tiernan Lynch sat down with the Derry Journal this week and gave his thoughts on the upcoming clash and he said: "Listen, it's a bit like the Sligo game and all the next four weeks, all the pressure will be on us.

"But that's something we have to live with and something that we have to embrace and enjoy as best we can."

DUNDALK

The Lilywhites head north west on Friday afternoon at a distinct disadvantage as they are the only team in the Premier Division without a competitive game under their belt since the new season began.

Their game against Shamrock Rovers last weekend was cancelled due to a waterlogged pitch at Tallaght Stadium.

The absence of a competitive game, coupled with the fact that they are a newly promoted side which had a significant turnover of players during the close season, marks them out as a bit of unknown quantity ahead of the game in the Brandywell.

There were ten new arrivals at Oriel Park while nine exited the club as manager Ciaran Kilduff sought to reshape his squad for the tougher challenges of the Premier Division.

The only guide to the likely shape of the new look Lilywhites came in the annual Jim Malone Cup game against Co Louth rivals Drogheda Utd at the end of January.

They started that game, which they won by 4-2 on penalties, with seven new signings in their starting line-up, and a further three new faces on the bench.

Kilduff spoke with extratime.com ahead of the new season and he said: "We feel good about things, a lot of good recruitment, a lot of lads staying with the club, and a lot of stability within the club.

“Awesome - I think we can all feel that something is brewing.

"I think a lot of work, a lot of dark days - I obviously took over the club at a time where we didn’t have a license and we were scrambling.

"I think there are huge expectations on ourselves. We have a very passionate support, we have a great fan base, we're a club steeped in history, so nothing other than success looks like success, which is trying to win as many games as we can."

Referee: Declan Toland

MATCH STATS

These two teams have met a total of 60 times in all competitions with Dundalk winning 29 matches, Derry City winning 14 matches and 17 ending in a draw. (City only joined the LOI in the 1985/86 season)

The four most recent games in the 2024 season saw the Candystripes win two with the other two games ending in draws.

PREDICTION

Derry City 3-0 Dundalk

Derry City

Injured: None

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

Dundalk

Injured: None

Doubtful: None

Suspended: None

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— extratime.com (@extratime.com) 13 February 2026 at 07:51