Paul Corry: Derry City 'under huge pressure' after 'folding' in league

Derry City are under "huge pressure" to claim silverware after "folding" in the Premier Division run-in, according to RTÉ soccer analyst Paul Corry.

Ruaidhrí Higgins' side are seeking their second FAI Cup victory in three years following a demolarising conclusion to the league campaign, where they slumped to a fourth place finish after winning just one of their last eight games.

League runners-up over the past two years, Derry were arguably in the strongest position in the title race with five games remaining, just four points adrift of faltering league leaders Shelbourne with two matches in hand.

However, two damaging home draws in the space of four days against Bohemians and Sligo Rovers saw them surrender that brief advantage and their title push was doomed from that point on, and was formally ended with a 1-0 defeat to St Pat's on the penultimate weekend.

As a result, they head into Sunday's Cup final against Drogheda United requiring a win to secure European football for 2025.

By contrast, their form in the Cup has been bullet-proof, having dispatched Shelbourne, St Patrick's Athletic and Bohemians en route to another decider. And Corry feels that they should have enough quality to complete the job at the weekend, provided they've got the league disappointment out of their system.

"There's huge pressure (on Derry) heading into this game," Corry said on the RTÉ Soccer Podcast. "There's a sense in which they folded in recent weeks in the league.

"Realistically, when you look back at it, Derry had the best opportunity of all the teams to go ahead of Shelbourne.

"And they just weren't able to get over the line when those opportunities presented themselves. There was some really poor performances and really poor results along