Derry City: Chairman Philip O'Doherty calls for an end to fans boycott

Derry City chairman Philip O'Doherty has expressed disappointment with supporters who stayed away from their Europa League qualifier on Thursday.

The Candystripes were beaten 2-0 by Dinamo Minsk in front of a crowd of just 1,400 at the Brandywell Stadium.

Local fans staged a boycott of the game in response to the decision to increase ticket prices to £25 for the fixture.

"It was £25 a game six or seven years ago, I don't think that was the reason," said O'Doherty.

"I don't really know what point they were trying to make. It was total stupidity.

"The money goes to the playing budget in the club, the same people who were calling for this boycott are always meeting me and saying we need to increase the budget but I've put more than enough into the club so it certainly hasn't helped my enthusiasm."

The match was Derry's first European fixture at the redeveloped Brandywell and the club had hoped for a crowd of up to 3,500, with O'Doherty making a personal plea for fans the support the team.

The club had earlier revised plans to also increase ticket prices for fans under the age of 16 for the fixture.

"I think that people need to look at themselves, the way this thing was started, and unfortunately I think some people that actually thought about it turned up at the game but a lot of people that basically were following them didn't turn up," O'Doherty told the BBC after the game.

"I think we've both made statements so I think it's time to move on," he added.

"There's a lot of football left to be played in the season, there's a very big game, our next home game, on the 27 July against St Patrick's Athletic, which are one of the teams that are not far behind us, so I would encourage people to move on from it now.

"We've had our argument, we both have our own opinions so let's move on."