Cotter Joins CSKA After Derry City’s 5-3 Exit

Barry Cotter joined CSKA Sofia on 8 September for an undisclosed fee, after his own goal had ended Derry City’s Europa League campaign.

CSKA won 3-2 in Sofia on 9 July and 2-1 at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on 16 July, going through 5-3 on aggregate.

Olayinka’s Header Only Bought Derry Seven Days

The first-leg in the Vasil Levski National Stadium was the match the wires filed as a near miss. CSKA forward Ioannis Pittas opened it on 20 minutes with a curling shot into the top corner, and the noise in Sofia did the rest for a while.

Derry woke up when Liam Boyce, then 35, found space in the 31st minute and drove Michael Duffy’s free-kick into the net. Bruno Jordao put CSKA back in front on 53 minutes after Stefano Sensi found him at the edge of the box, and a stranded Brian Maher could not reach the strike.

After the restart Pittas scored again, finishing a move with teammate Pastor for his second of the night. Nick Twisk, on as a new signing, won the ball and fed Duffy, whose flick was converted by Boyce, but the flag was up for offside. Twisk then blocked Sensi at the other end. Patrick McClean diverted another Sensi shot, and Jordao fired wide.

James McClean and James Olayinka both missed the target in a frantic close. Then CSKA failed to clear a corner, and Olayinka headed in with a minute left, Duffy down as the assist. The deficit was one goal. Tiernan Lynch’s side still had a home leg.

Home Fans Spilled Onto the Brandywell Pitch

Lynch changed the side for the return. Kevin Dos Santos, Adam O’Reilly and Brandon Fleming started. Boyce did not make the match-day squad. CSKA still asked early questions through Pittas and Jordao, and Duffy smashed a shot off the post.

Two minutes into the second half Duffy crossed, Fleming headed back across goal, and Ellis Chapman headed in from close range for his first Derry goal. The tie was 3-3. The packed ground had the night it wanted, for about a quarter of an hour.

Before the hour, visiting supporters in the shared Southend Park stand tried to push through the cordon toward the home section. Missiles came over. Women and children went onto the grass to get away. Referee Jasmin Sabotic took the players off. Police went in after Derry asked, during the chaotic second-leg exit at the Brandywell.

PSNI chief inspector Graeme Craig said disorder had already broken out in Bishop Street at about 6.45pm, a 15-minute walk from the ground, and that one officer was hurt and needed hospital treatment. The club later said the stoppage lasted over 15 minutes.

Why the Stoppage Swung the Tie

Lynch said the halt handed CSKA a rest his side did not want, after Chapman had levelled the tie. When the game came back, Derry’s press had gone and the visitors had a reset. Pittas, already on a double from Sofia, needed one defensive mix-up.

THE SECOND-LEG CLOCK

1. Before the hour: Sabotic takes both teams off after CSKA fans rush the barrier; play stays stopped for over 15 minutes.
2. 74 minutes: Pittas nips between Patrick McClean and Maher and lifts the ball into the unguarded net, 1-1 on the night and 4-3 CSKA over two legs.
3. 90+18: Derry throw Patrick McClean forward, CSKA break, and the ball comes off Cotter for an own goal that makes it 2-1 and 5-3.

James Clarke came on and caused problems. Derry piled up corners. Duffy had the CSKA keeper scrambling from a late shot that stayed out. Another Derry goal would have forced extra time. The own goal ended that maths, and objects came from the North Stand toward the CSKA keeper. Midfielder Adam O’Reilly said the situation in the stands had killed their momentum.

I thought the swing in it was the break. I thought we had them right there as they ended up getting a breather that we didn’t want them to have.

Tiernan Lynch, Derry City manager, to BBC Sport NI

Pittas left the tie with three goals. Derry left it with a one-goal first-leg deficit that had been cancelled, then restored, then stretched in added time.

Sofia Has Now Ended Derry Three Times

Before the draw, Derry’s own site framed the tie as unfinished business after two 2-1 aggregate defeats in Sofia, 17 years after the last meeting with CSKA. The 2026 version did not break the pattern. It only made the scoreline heavier.

THREE TIES WITH SOFIA

CSKA hold 31 Bulgarian titles and 22 Bulgarian Cups, and they entered this round as seeds against League of Ireland runners-up. Derry had beaten Skonto Riga to reach them in 2009, then lost the first-leg 1-0 in Sofia and drew 1-1 at home. The 2026 first-leg at least had two away goals. The home-leg still went the same way those older nights went.

The €55,000 Bill for One Night in Derry

UEFA’s appeals body ruled on 21 July. Derry said it had complained about aggressive behaviour from the visiting support, and that it fully accepted its own punishment. CSKA apologised for damage to seats and agreed to cover the repair bill.

UEFA SANCTIONS AFTER 16 JULY

• CSKA’s fine: The Bulgarian club was fined €55,000 in total, including €5,000 for a staff member who broke the basic rules of decent conduct.
• Away tickets: CSKA was banned from selling tickets for its next European away match, the trip to Qarabag, for throwing objects, damage and crowd trouble.
• Racism charge: A further one-match away ticket ban for racist or discriminatory behaviour, including Nazi salutes caught on video, was suspended for two years.
• Derry’s fine: The home club was fined €20,000 for an effective invasion of the field, crowd trouble and throwing objects.
• North Stand: A partial closure of the North Stand for one home UEFA match was suspended for a two-year probation.
• Damaged seats: UEFA told CSKA to reach a settlement with Derry inside 30 days for seats wrecked in the Southend Park stand.

Derry said one of its own supporters had gone onto the pitch and approached the CSKA goalkeeper before security sent him back, and that identified fans could face a lifetime ban from the ground. The football punishment was already complete. CSKA were in the next round. Derry were in the Conference League.

When Barry Cotter Signed for CSKA Sofia

On 8 September Derry confirmed that the right-sided wing-back who put the ball into his own net in the 18th minute of added time had joined Bulgarian side CSKA Sofia for an undisclosed fee. He had played 30 times since arriving at the start of the season and scored twice. CSKA, posting in Bulgarian, called him their seventh summer signing.

https://x.com/derrycityfc/status/2097272071352877154

The clip of that own goal, with visiting fans laughing in the background, is a brutal souvenir of the night. Signing for the club whose ultras had rushed the barrier is a hard sell to supporters who had children on the grass. He could not beat CSKA in July. In September he put their shirt on.

Barry was obviously an important member of our squad, however this is a fantastic opportunity for him, and the club didn’t want to stand in his way. We want to wish Barry every success at CSKA.

Mark Connolly, Derry City interim manager, club statement 8 September 2026

CSKA are in the Conference League league phase after leaving the Europa League later in qualifying. Cotter goes with them. Derry get a fee they will not name and a hole on the right of the defence.

Rijeka Finished the Job at the Brandywell

The drop into the Conference League second qualifying round paired Derry with HNK Rijeka. Croatia took a 1-0 lead on 23 July through Toni Fruk. At the Brandywell on 30 July, Daniel Adu-Adjei scored in the 14th minute after a mistake by Cameron Dummigan, and Rijeka won 1-0 again. Duffy hit the bar. The tie finished 0-2. Derry’s European year was over 14 days after the CSKA first-leg.

Lynch had asked his players to keep the first-leg in Sofia alive, and Olayinka had done that. Seven days later the stand went, Pittas scored his third of the tie, and Cotter’s deflection wrote the last line. In September the last line got a transfer annex.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many times have Derry City lost to clubs from Sofia?

Three times, always on aggregate, and always after a lead or a live second-leg. In 1995 Harry McCourt scored in the 43rd minute in front of 2,550 at the Brandywell, then Lokomotiv Sofia won 2-0 in front of 3,600, with Tony O’Dowd sent off and GAA star Anthony Tohill going in goal. CSKA then beat them 2-1 in 2009 and 5-3 in 2026.

What were the scorers when Derry last met CSKA Sofia before 2026?

Ivan Stoyanov scored in the 73rd minute of the 30 July 2009 first-leg in Sofia. In the Brandywell return, Brazilian Marquinhos hit a long free-kick in the 70th minute, and David Scullion replied in the 82nd. Stephen Kenny’s side could not find the two more goals they needed after that away strike.

Had Liam Boyce faced CSKA Sofia before the 2026 tie?

Yes, for Cliftonville. He scored the opener in the second-leg of a 2010 Europa League third qualifying round meeting, a consolation in a 5-1 aggregate defeat after a 3-0 loss in Sofia. In 2026 he scored Derry’s first-leg equaliser, then missed the Brandywell return squad.

What extra UEFA order sat behind the headline fines?

Inside CSKA’s €55,000 was a €5,000 fine on a staff member for conduct, and an order to settle with Derry within 30 days for wrecked seats. Derry’s €20,000 sat beside a suspended North Stand partial closure. CSKA also missed ticket sales for the Qarabag away-leg that followed.

CSKA Sofia open their Conference League league phase against Monaco on 15 October. Cotter will be on their books for that run. Derry will not.