Derry take heart despite falling to Newcastle

It may be Newcastle United's first trophy of the new season but if the Irish International Club Cup turns out to be their last of the new campaign then Kenny Dalglish's spell at the helm of Sir John Hall's Geordie ship may come to end no more happily than that of Kevin Keegan.

Newcastle dominated the final of this championship's but the Scotsman made it clear that his side's greatest achievement of the week had been to prove that their fitness programme was ahead of schedule. "Both teams looked very tired and we were happy to get through it in the end but I'm happy with the level of fitness that everybody has shown for this stage in the build up," he said.

"The match was a bit too one sided to be good but we're glad we've won it and Derry will feel the benefit of beating Celtic," concluded Dalglish whose team still has some way to go before being ready for the rigours of a season proper in which there will be a great deal of pressure to deliver on their very obvious potential.

Derry were forced to defend in numbers for most of the second period with only Liam Coyle and Gary Beckett excused from carrying their share of the burden at the back. Derry were forced to make one change to the side that started against celtic - James Keddy will be out for three weeks with a thigh strain.

Tiredness was readily apparent towards the end when breaks by Ryan Semple and Peter Hutton broke down due to either lack of support or a simple, fatigue induced slip up.

They now have a week to prepare for their European clash against Maribor of Slovenia and Felix Healy will draw considerable heart from his side's performance over their two nights at Lansdowne Road. "It shows what a good side Derry is that we could compete at that sort of level so early in our season. We didn't have a bad player over the two matches."

In every area of the pitch his men look to be slotting nicely back together again after the summer break while Eamon Doherty's introduction at full-back looks to be going without a hitch.

By the time the second half had started, however, Derry's fate had already been sealed. Through lengthy stretches of the opening period the National League champions had held their own against Dalglish's men but on those occasions that the slightest frailty was shown by the Northerners at the back, United's players queued up to show that even under the new regime there is always an abundance of players willing to accept a goal-scoring opportunity.

Jim Crawford, a Dubliner whose first team opportunities at St James's Park have been severely limited by the seemingly endless inward flow of expensive talent opened the English side's account but City could count themselves unfortunate that the mid-fielders strike found the back of the net for, as it passed through a crowded area, it took a deflection that left O'Dowd with no chance. Towards the end of the half there were fewer excuses for Healy's side as Newcastle doubled their advantage through Peter Beardsley. With seven minutes of the first half still to play it seemed a little early for the strain to be telling on the part-timers but only one defender was on hand when Des Hamilton's curling cross from the right was headed down by Ferdinand for the former Liverpool and Everton star who had little difficulty slipping the ball low past O'Dowd from the edge of the six yard box.

It was little more than the English outfit had deserved for, after poking and prodding at the City defence they began to find the cracks that allowed them to glimpse the target.

Ferdinand had headed wide as early as the sixth minute while both he and Hamilton had struck the woodwork with powerful drives and although Healy's back four, especially Dykes, looked far from out of its depth, they were forced to concede far too much ground.

Derry's best chances had come from a couple of long range Paul Hegarty shots but after that the City midfield became more adventurous. Just before the break the shift in approach was almost rewarded with Mohan moving inside towards the area and Gary Beckett carrying the ball wide and into space. When the young striker got to the line for the cross it was behind Liam Coyle but the 29 year-old turned superbly and his overhead shot produced the best save of the night from Pavel Srnicek who got down well to his left to stop.