A sold-out Maginn Park witnessed a moving tribute to Ryan McBride as Derry City and Bray Wanderers emerged to the pitch for tonight's League of Ireland clash.
It will be two weeks on Sunday since Derry and Irish football lost one of its most cherished sons, the tough-tackling leader of men and League of Ireland great who passed away aged 27.
Tonight marked Derry's first game since their captain's death, with last week's fixture understandably postponed as Kenny Shiels and his squad came to terms with the tragic loss of their teammate and friend. Marking the occasion with a special, McBride-themed match programme, Derry moved their tribute onto the field of play.
First, the Derry players warmed up in McBride t-shirts pre-game, before disappearing back to the dressing room for some final instructions from Shiels. Before they emerged alongside the Bray players who respectfully wore a red variation of the same McBride t-shirt, an amalgamation of Derry City's under-17s and under-19s walked to the pitch and formed the figure of '5' in front of their fans.
Both senior sides then stood side by side for a minute's applause for the great McBride.
The Derry u17/19 players stand in a '5' formation as the teams honour Ryan McBride at Maginn Park pic.twitter.com/GjuwNJ86N1
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) March 31, 2017
Gerard Doherty leads Derry City out wearing shirts with 'McBride 5' on the back. pic.twitter.com/S2fUzSUfYq
— Gary Ferry (@thebiscuitg) March 31, 2017
Derry City U17s form a giant number 5 on the pitch just before kick-off. pic.twitter.com/UW6Ub8nYbv
— Gary Ferry (@thebiscuitg) March 31, 2017
[video via Dan McDonnell]
Derry also wore special jerseys in honour of their late captain, with 'McBride 5' embroidered front-and-centre on each player's shirt.
Sportsfile were on hand to capture a few shots of Derry's moving tribute to one of their favourite sons.
