The Chinese say that eight is lucky number, and it was certainly lucky number eight for The Rebel Army. Eight games, eight wins, eight goals for Seani Maguire and I'm writing this on the eighth of April (stretching much?).
Seriously though, Cork City were unreal last night. Derry had their spell of dominance in the first 20 minutes or so, but as soon as Garry Buckley put the home side into the lead, the result was only going one way. For all the stick he got last season, Buckley has started this season in some fashion, certainly silencing any doubters the former under 19's captain had.
But it's not just Garry Buckley who has stepped up this season, Gearoid Morrissey is playing out of his skin, similar to how he was playing before his move to Cambridge in 2015. He looks a completely different player to the man who returned home last season. I cannot forget to mention Conor McCormack either. Before the season started we ran a poll on our Twitter (which you can follow @RRPresenters) asking who people thought was going to be the most crucial of our recent signings, and marginally, the former Manchester United man came out on top.
Being honest, I was never a big fan of McCormack whenever I saw him play, so when we signed him, I was very sceptical, but bar the performance against Shamrock Rovers where he gave away a needless penalty, I have to say, he is the player that has impressed me the most. He reminds me of Greg Bolger if he ate the Duracell bunny, he can find the perfect pass but would also run for Ireland.
I think it goes to show how strong our squad is this season, that we can afford to have a player like Steven Beattie start on the bench and still go out and score three goals. The Skerries man could go to any team in the country and be their kingpin, but Dooley and Sheppard are able to keep him out.
It's nearly a cliche at this point to talk about how good Sean Maguire is, but he really is that good. There is no debating the fact he is going to England next season, in my opinion, he is good more than good enough for a team in the bottom half of the Premier League, someone like a Bournemouth who are chasing the game, stick on Seani and he'll either assist or grab one himself, but is more than likely going to go to a team in the Championship.
The only thing I'm concerned about with the Kilkenny native is how do we replace him? He is, in my opinion, the best striker in the league, and 29 goals last season is going to be very difficult to replace, but I think the future could lie in Conor Ellis.
We saw again last night for the brief period he was on the pitch that he is a great player to have in the squad, but I think he could be a bit too young yet for first team action, he does not have enough experience to be starting games in the league week in, week out. I think a prime example of that last night was went he was boxed in by the corner flag by three Derry defenders, but instead of passing it off the Sheppard, who was free on the edge of the box, he tried to take them on himself and lost the ball.
He does have the potential to go places, but I think another loan spell somewhere would do him the world of good. With all due respect to the First Division, there is a sizable gap in quality between the two leagues, so I think if Ellis is to go on loan it should be to another Premier Division club.
All in all, as soon as City scored, it looked to me like the game was over. I think it's going to take Derry awhile to come to terms with the Ryan McBride tragedy, but I could see them going all the way and winning the FAI Cup or even the EA Sports Cup, but, in my opinion, I just think the league is a little too much for them right now. They are building a good squad up there, but I reckon next season or the season after, when the players are a bit more used to each other when they start to mound a title bid.
Cork City look to make it nine wins out of nine when they travel to Dalymount Park next Friday, as they take on Bohemians. You can listen to the game LIVE with Colm and Dave, with things kicking off from 7:30.
Picture Credit: Doug Minihane.