Dundalk 1
Derry City 3

Niall Newberry reports from Oriel Park

DERRY CITY KEPT their SSE Airtricity League title hopes alive with a 3-1 win in Dundalk.

They remain seven points off table-toppers Shamrock Rovers, but closed the gap on St Patrick’s Athletic, thanks to Will Patching’s brace, which added to a Ben Doherty strike.

For Dundalk, who grabbed a late, late consolation through Patrick Hoban’s penalty-kick, the FAI Cup now represents their most probable route back into Europe next season, as they sit seven points behind third-place Derry with just seven league fixtures left to play.

After a slow start to proceedings at Oriel, it was the hosts who created the first chance on 10 minutes, when an innocuous ball from Archie Davies caught Derry cold, affording Sam Durrant a clear shot at goal, but the winger could only fire straight at Brian Maher.

Derry’s first opening arrived four minutes later via a long kick-out from goalkeeper Maher, which was headed onwards by Danny Mullen before Paul McMullen got himself in ahead of Hayden Muller, but he was only able to hook his attempt wide of the far post.

It was end-to-end stuff for much of the opening half, and The Lilywhites almost hit the front, with a Davies cross being cleared by Ciaran Coll, but only as far as Daryl Horgan, who took a touch inside the penalty box before having a volley battered away by Maher.

At the opposite end, a neat exchange between the dangerous duo of McMullen and Mullen saw the latter turn and fire over from close range when it looked easier to score.

Horgan later swung in a corner from the right which was met at the back post by Muller, whose header was pushed around the post by Maher; while the subsequent corner, taken this time on the other side by Horgan, was headed onto the roof of the netting by Hoban.

However, it was the visitors who broke the deadlock three minutes before half-time, with ex-Dundalk player Patching starting a move which saw him eventually played back in by McMullen, taking a touch that took him between Connor Malley and Darren Brownlie before calmly finishing right into the bottom corner to make it 1-0 for The Candystripes.

Indeed, it should have been 2-0 a minute before the break, but from another McMullen ball, Doherty somehow blazed off target at the far post with entire goal at his mercy.

Derry doubled their lead just two minutes into the second period, however; McMullen’s cross was met by Patching, who got in ahead of Brownlie before being denied by Nathan Shepperd, but the rebound fell kindly to Doherty, who made amends for his earlier miss.

Dundalk very nearly pulled one back through skipper Hoban, who crashed a header onto the post from Daniel Kelly’s cross, while Johannes Yli-Kokko also had a header saved by Maher, with the Finnish midfielder thereafter seeing a volleyed attempt hit the crossbar.

However, it was Derry who were given the opportunity to make the points safe from the penalty spot after Patching made his way into the box before being pushed over by Kelly.

And it was Patching who rolled home from 12 yards on 77 minutes, sending Shepperd the wrong way to make it 3-0, and in turn keep Derry’s title charge alive and kicking.

Hoban converted a late penalty for The Lilywhites after Kelly was fouled, but for Stephen O’Donnell’s side, European qualification via the league route appears highly unlikely.

Dundalk: Nathan Shepperd; Archie Davies, Darren Brownlie (Paul Doyle 61), Darragh Leahy, Hayden Muller; Johannes Yli-Kokko (Alfie Lewis 70), Connor Malley (Robbie McCourt 61); Daniel Kelly, Daryl Horgan, Sam Durrant (Robbie Benson 79); Patrick Hoban.

Derry City: Brian Maher; Ciaran Coll, Shane McEleney, Sam Todd (Jordan McEneff 74), Cameron McJannet; Adam O’Reilly, Patrick McEleney (Brandon Kavanagh 81); Paul McMullan, Will Patching, Ben Doherty; Danny Mullen (Jamie McGonigle 64).

Referee: Damien MacGraith

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