Derry City 5
Drogheda United 1
Simon Collins reports from the Ryan McBride Brandywell
DERRY CITY MADE it four straight League of Ireland victories with an impressive five goal dismantling of bottom club Drogheda United at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium on Friday night.
The Candy Stripes were in charge from the first whistle, Cameron Dummigan’s brilliant 25 yard volley the catalyst for a dominant display that kept Ruaidhri Higgins’ team hot on the heels of leaders Shelbourne.
Drogheda did threaten briefly but Adam Foley’s equaliser proved only a stay of execution for Kevin Doherty struggling side as goals from Will patching, Daniel Kelly, Pat Hoban and Ciaran Coll put the seal on an excellent night for the home side, one which also saw the return to first team of former Ireland U21 striker Colm Whelan.
Whelan was introduced as a 76th minute substitute for Patching, his first Derry appearance since injuring his ACL on 1 May 2023.
Higgins’ troops warmed up for the restart with a 2-0 friendly victory over Irish League side Crusaders last Saturday and were quickly out of the blocks again at Brandywell last night.
Daniel Kelly, starting in place of the injured Michael Duffy, had already had a couple of early sighters, the second of which required a smart save from Drogheda keeper Andrew Wogan, by the time Dummigan shot the Candy Stripes hit the front with only five minutes on the clock.
And what a strike it was, the right back taking a pass from Sadou Diallo before volleying a sublime effort over Wogan and into the top corner for his third goal for Derry City and his first since April 2022 against St. Patrick’s Athletic.
It was exactly the start Derry were after but their good work was nearly undone inside 60 seconds when an intricate Drogheda move ended with Warren Davis finding himself in space inside Derry’s box but his weak effort was cleared off the line by Kelly at the back post.
It was a warning Derry failed to heed and on 25 minutes they were made to pay when Evan Weir’s corner from the right wasn’t cleared allowing Adam Foley to poke home Drogheda’s equaliser through a crowded six yard box.
But Drogheda’s joy was short lived – as was Foley’s, three minutes to be precise as Derry hit the front for a second time in somewhat controversial circumstances.
Paul McMullan’s 28th minute corner was aimed at Mark Connolly’s run but the Derry defender’s progress was halted by Foley, illegally according to referee Rob Harvey who pointed to the spot. Drogheda weren’t happy and they were even less so when Will Patching rolled home his third spot-kick of the season – his sixth goal overall – to hand Derry back a lead.
Paul McMullan almost increased the home advantage when he latched on to a Kelly header only to pull his shot wide from 18 yards while Brian Maher had to be alert to parry a late Ryan Brennan effort wide to ensure Derry took their lead into the break.
Drogheda thought they had equalised for a second time four minutes after the restart when another Weir corner was forced home amid a mass of bodies but the visitors’ celebrations were cut short by a linesman’s flag.
The Drogs’ frustrations were compounded on 56 minutes when Kelly, looking suspiciously offside, raced on to a long clearance from his own half before driving into the box and firing home his first goal for Derry on what was his 23rd appearance.
A bad night for Kevin Doherty’s men got worse when Frantz Pierrot, who had been walking a disciplinary tightrope after a first half yellow card, was eventually shown a second following an aerial clash with Connolly on 64 minutes.
And just one minute later, Drogheda’s task went from a mountain to mission impossible when Derry produced the best move of the match to score their fourth through Pat Hoban. Diallo started it with a lovely raking pass down the left to pick out Ben Doherty’s run. Doherty’s cross matched the pass and found Kelly who nodded down perfectly for Hoban to sweep home a superb finish for his 12th of the season.
And Derry weren’t finished yet as Ciaran Coll headed home with his first touch to confirm a ninth home win in 13 league games for Higgins’ title challengers.
DERRY CITY: Brian Maher, Cameron Dummigan (Ronan Boyce, 84mins), Ben Doherty (Ciaran Coll, 84mins), Mark Connolly, Shane McEleney (Sam Todd, 84mins), Sadou Diallo, Adam O’Reilly, Will Patching (Colm Whelan, 76mins), Daniel Kelly, Paul McMullan, Pat Hoban (Danny Mullen, 68mins).
DROGHEDA UNITED: Andrew Wogan, Evan Weir (Evan Haddock, 85mins), Andrew Quinn, Jack Keaney, Frantz Pierrot, Adam Foely (Emre Topcu, 75mins), Matthew O’Brien, Ryan Brennan (James Byrne, 70mins), Luke Heeney, Conor Kane, Warren Davis.
Referee: Rob Harvey