3 v 3 
Derry CityDetails
| Date | Time | League | Season |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 August 2023 | 5:00 pm | UEFA Conference League | 2023/24 |
Match Report
Derry Make Third Round In Six Goal Thriller
A six-goal thriller sees Derry City progress to the third round of Europa Conference League qualification as The Candystripes draw 3-3 with Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in a frantic game at the Vale Areena in Finland.
Goals from Cian Kavanagh, Sadio Diallo and Michael Duffy matched a goal from Jasse Tuominen and a brace from Sako Sovolainen as the tie ended 5-4 on aggregate in favour of the League of Ireland side.
Derry City boss Ruaidhri Higgins made two changes from the last encounter with KuPS, bringing in Paul McMullen and Cian Kavanagh from the start after their transformative impact off the bench in the first leg.
The Candystripes withstood a lot of pressure in the opening twelve minutes of the game, that is until they broke the deadlock against the run of play through the combination of McMullen and Kavanagh.
In the first real opportunity for Derry to get out of their half, McMullen darted down the right wing before lifting a beautiful ball to the back post to find Kavanagh, who made no mistake by heading the ball past Johannes Kriedl to give Derry a two-goal lead in the tie.
Their lead on the night would only last eleven minutes, and unfortunately, this could be counted as a goalkeeping error.
A corner kick from the KuPS left was delivered onto the head of Jasse Tuominen. The Finnish player's effort sailed past Brian Maher, who had ventured out to punch the ball clear but got nowhere near the ball.
KuPS would take the lead with a sucker punch of a goal before halftime but Maher could do little with about the goal that would level the tie.
Tete Yengi rose up on the corner of the box to head a pass to Tuominen. The scorer of the home side's first goal of the game flicked the ball onto Sako Sovolainen, whose shot took a deflection and wrong-footed Maher.
Maher did get something on the shot but his efforts were in vain as the ball spun into the net.
Derry started the second half brightly and were rewarded for their attacking play with a goal ten minutes after the restart.
Michael Duffy passed the ball across the face of the eighteen-yard box and a dummy from Will Patching disguised it well for Sadio Diallo. The substitute’s first effort was blocked and appeals for handballs could be heard but Diallo was alert and volleyed the rebound past Krieldl to restore Derry’s advantage in the tie.
This lead stood for all of two minutes as Anton Popovitch played in Sovolainen who made a run into the Derry penalty area and poked a shot through Maher’s legs, putting the home side ahead on the night and level in the tie.
A big moment was needed to separate these two sides and Michael Duffy provided it in the sixty-ninth minute to level the game and put Derry City ahead in the tie once more.
Sadio Diallo’s searching ball to the back post was met by Duffy, who had managed to lose his maker, to put a diving header into the bottom corner for the game's sixth goal.
KuPS pressed for a goal late on but didn’t threaten Brian Maher meaning Derry City progress to the next round of Europa Conference League Qualification.
Timeline
| 8' | 10. Patrick McEleney | |
| 13' | 12. Cian Kavanagh | |
| 9. Jasse Tuominen | 24' | |
| 29' | Patrick McEleney Sadou Diallo | |
| 6. Saku Sovolainen | 44' | |
| 45+1' | 23. Cameron Dummigan | |
| 52' | Cameron Dummigan Adam O'Reilly | |
| 55' | 15. Sadou Diallo | |
| 6. Saku Sovolainen | 57' | |
| 69' | 7. Michael Duffy | |
| Anton Popovitch Gabriel Bispo | 71' | |
| Saku Sovolainen Jake Jervis | 71' | |
| 75' | 15. Sadou Diallo | |
| 79' | Paul McMullan Shane McEleney | |
| 79' | Cian Kavanagh Danny Mullen | |
| Jaakko Oksanen Sebastian Dahlstrom | 86' | |
| Jasse Tuominen Pyry Lampinen | 86' | |
| 32. Tete Yengi | 90+3' | |
| 90+4' | 14. Ben Doherty |
Past Meetings
|
(Second Qualifying Round)
2 - 1UEFA Conference League
Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium Derry City 2-1 KuPS |
Final Whistle
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FULL TIME: KuPS 3-3 Derry City. Derry City progress to the next round!
Yellow for Doherty for kicking the ball away
Yellow card for Yengi.
Five minutes of added time will be added.
Lampinen and Dahlstrom replace Tuominen and Oksanen
Shane McEleney and Danny Mullen replace Kavanagh and McMullen
Big chance for Jervis who curls his effort wide of the post from the corner of the box.
Derry deal with the ball in and McJannett is fouled in the process.
Yellow card for Diallo for a foul halfway into the Derry half. Danger for Derry.
Bispo and Jervis replace Sovolainen and Popovitch
3-3! Diallo lofts a ball into the box to find Duffy who had lost his marker to fire in a diving header into the far bottom corner. Derry back in front AGAIN in the tie
WHAT A SAVE! Doherty whips a ball in for Kavanagh who does everything right by heading his shot powerfully down towards the goal line but Kriedl gets a strong hand to the ball and keeps the shot out.
Connolly heads wide from a Derry corner that may have ended up in a penalty on another day. Patching headed the ball past the keeper who came out to punch the ball but cleared the Derry midfielder out in conceding the corner.
3-2! Popovitch receives the ball in the middle of the pitch and plays Sovolainen through to poke his effort through the legs of Maher to restore the home side's lead on the night. What a game!
2-2! DERRY DRAW LEVEL! Duffy passes the ball across the face of the 18-yard box. Patching dummies the ball for Diallo who fires a shot that was blocked. As the claims for handball were pressed by some of the Derry players Diallo was awake to the situation and volleyed rebound in.
Dummigan limps off the pitch and is replaced by Adam O'Reilly.
The corner finds Sovolainen in a crowd of players but the scorer of the second goal gets under the ball to head well over the bar
Tidy football by the home side ends with Antwi winning a corner.
And we are back underway at the Vale Areena.
HALF TIME: After falling behind KuPS are now level in this tie thanks to goals from Tuominen and Sovolainen. Kavanagh scoring early gave Derry the dream start but now will have a tense forty-five minutes ahead of them as they attempt to make it to round three of the Europa Conference League. Coverage of the second-half action to come.
Dummigan receives a yellow card for a wild tackle in the middle of the park.
2-1! THE TIE IS LEVEL! Yengi heads the ball towards Tuominen who flicks it onto Sovolainen. His effort is deflected and wrong-foots Maher to level the tie and put KuPS ahead on the night.
Nervy moment for Derry as Maher rises to claim the ball under pressure from Yengi. Maher drops the ball but claims at the second attempt.
Tuominen carries the ball into the box and gets to the end line but the combined effort of Boyce and Connolly helps see the ball out of play.
Duffy whips a ball in to find McMullen but his touch is too heavy and the ball rolls through to the keeper.
McEleney makes way due to injury for Sadio Diallo.
McEleney receives attention on the ground as replays of the equaliser are shown. Maher will not be happy with himself for the goal.
1-1! The resulting corner produces the levelling goal. The ball meets the head of Tuominen who heads past Maher who had tried to punch the ball clear. 3-2 to Derry on aggregate.
Okansen fires a shot from far out which hits Connolly to give the home side a corner kick.
Duffy hits the stanchion with a long-range effort that didn't cause any issues for the KuPS keeper.
Patching and McMullen do a quick corner routine before McMullen crosses to cause havoc in the box. Doherty gets the ball in the next passage of play and his long shot is dealt with by Kriedl on the second attempt. Derry playing all the football since the goal.
Big chance for Derry to make it two on the night as Patching delivers a ball for Boyce whose header deflects wide. A number of corners for Derry here.
The ball in is headed wide for a corner for Derry.
Kavanagh wins a free kick halfway into the KuPS half.
1-0 TO DERRY! McMullen gets down the right-hand side and lifts a lovely ball to Kavanagh at the back post to head in. Completely against the run of play but Derry will not complain. The Candystripes are now 3-1 ahead on aggregate.
Antwi again fires from range as the ball rolls to him centrally but his effort is again dragged to the left of Brian Maher in the Derry goal. All the football is being played by the home side. Very similar to the first leg early on.
Very poor effort from the dead ball by Antwi as the ball hits the deck before rolling well wide.
Yellow card for McEleney for a cynical pull back after losing the ball in the Derry half. Big chance for KuPS from here
A diagonal ball into the Derry City box by Oksansen was claimed well by Maher under pressure at the back post.
Yengi has the chance to score from the corner but makes a poor connection with the ball and Maher can claim the ball under pressure.
Heinonen turns smartly and tries to feed the ball through the defensive line but Doherty cuts it out at the expense of a corner.
And we are underway at the Vale Areena.
TEAM NEWS: Cian Kavanagh and Paul McMullen come in from the start today after contributing a goal and an assist respectively after coming off the bench. Brandon Kavanagh drops to the bench. Jamie McGonigle misses out entirely.
Hello and welcome to coverage of the second leg of the Europa Conference League second-round qualifier between Derry City and host Kuopion Palloseura (KuPS) in Finland. Conor Cantwell here ready to report on all the action from the game this evening.