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• MariborKev 

Derry's momentous first season in the League of Ireland culminated in the two-legged Shield final against Longford Town. Longford, like Derry - had missed out on promotion to the Premier Division, and the Shield was the last chance either team had of capturing any silverware that season.

FIRST LEG

The first leg of the final took place at Brandywell on 13th April 1986 in front of an expectant home support. Town travelled to the game confident of victory, after being the only team to complete the "double" over City in Division One that season.

Stuart Gauld put City in the lead after 11 minutes, coolly slotting home a penalty following a handball from a Longford defender.

Twenty minutes later however, Longford equalised when Paul Masterson flashed in a free kick which Eamon Quigley could only palm into the City goal.

The Longford defence stubbornly held solid until the hour mark, when Owen Da Gama showed a flash of the brilliance which had endeared him to the Brandywell faithful - he beat a Longford defender before rifling home a low shot past Kelly to give City the lead.

Derry then piled on the pressure, in search of the goal that would effectively seal victory. The goal eventually came in the 89th minute through the unfortunate Martin Smyth who inexplicably put the ball past his own keeper following a cross by Da Gama.

To compound Longford's frustrating day, they had their No 7, Pierce Walsh sent off in injury time - after he had elbowed Owen Da Gama right in front of referee Wilfred Wallace.

Had Derry done enough in the First leg to capture their first trophy in the League of Ireland?

Well, we had to wait a week, until the following Sunday, to find out the answer.

SLIGO EXODUS

The second leg would be played at the home of Sligo Rovers rather than Longford's home ground at Abbeycarton - as the Longford officials believed that they would make more money if they moved the tie closer to the North-West.

And so the Red & White Army went on the march again, this time to Sligo - hopeful of seeing City finish Longford off and capture their first trophy in their first season in the League of Ireland.

Sligo Showgrounds was a sea of red & white with the Derry supporters in celebratory mood even before the kick-off.

Stuart Gauld added to the party atmosphere by appearing on the pitch in a kilt during the warm-up, much to the delight of the travelling fans.

But this match will be remembered for one thing - a fantastic performance by Owen Da Gama, which saw him score a fine hat-trick.

His first goal was City's goal of the season - receiving a pass from the left, and with his back to goal, Da Gama deflected the ball, with a cheeky back-heel, past Kelly to give Derry a 4-1 lead on aggregate.

The second goal was also a classic - Nelson Da Silva, who was playing his best game in a Derry shirt, received the ball on the half-way line before skipping his way through the Longford Town defence. Da Silva squared the ball to Da Gama on the edge of the penalty area and he unleashed a fierce shot into the top corner of the Longford goal.

In the second-half City continued to pile on the pressure, with McCreadie, Bradley and Da Silva all coming close to extending the lead.

The final goal didn't come until the final minute however when Derry were awarded a penalty as Da Silva was up-ended in the box.

The awarding of the penalty sparked a pitch invasion from the exuberant City supporters, and eventually, when the stewards had cleared the pitch, Da Gama slammed home the spot kick for his hat-trick.

I still do not know if the referee actually got a chance to blow for full-time that day, because as soon as the ball hit the back of the net, hundreds of jubilant City fans invaded the pitch to carry their heroes shoulder high around the Showgrounds.

It was fitting that captain Declan McDowell received the Shield, as the veteran defender had been a member of the last City team to play in a Final - the IFA Cup Final against a Martin O'Neill inspired Distillery in 1971.

The Derry players who captured the trophy that day were:
Eamon Quigley, Liam McDermott, John Quigg, Nelson Da Silva, Declan McDowell, Noel King, Stuart Gauld, Owen Da Gama, Brendan Bradley, Kevin O'Neill, Kevin Mahon, Tony O' Doherty and Barry McCreadie.