Bohemians 1
Derry City 4
Sean O’Neill reports from Dalymount Park
DERRY CITY GOT their season off to the best possible start with a convincing win against Bohemians at Dalymount Park.
A brace from Nathan Boyle, sandwiched in between goals from Aaron McEneff and Lukas Schubert, saw the Candystripes overcome a Bohs side which looked in disarray at times.
Derry began the season with high expectations after last year’s excellent campaign and they started like a side which seemed intent on laying down a marker.
The exit door swung open worryingly often for Bohs during the off-season, with some of their most influential players leaving. On the evidence of this opening display, the loss of a number of key first-teamers could be detrimental to their chances.
Former Derry midfielder Keith Ward was one of five new signings in the home side’s starting line-up, which also included Dinny Corcoran, who made his return to the club, while Nicky Low was the sole debutant in Kenny Shiels’ team.
Midfield lynchpin Conor McCormack left Derry for Cork City during the winter but Low stepped up to the plate alongside Aaron McEneff. The Scottish midfielder controlled matters early on and he played an intricate part in the opener on 14 minutes.
He split the Bohs defence wide open with a pin-point pass to find Rory Patterson, who got to the ball ahead of Shane Supple who rushed out of his goal and brought down the Derry striker.
Referee Paul McLaughlin had no hesitation in pointing to the spot, with McEneff stepping up to calmly slot the spot-kick to Supple’s left to give Derry the lead.
Dean Jarvis should have doubled the lead at the midway point in the half as he was found completely unmarked from a Low corner but Supple saved with his feet at the back post.
The Foylesiders were then dealt a blow as Patterson was forced off with an injury but on the stroke of half-time his replacement, Nathan Boyle, scored after a calamitous mistake by Derek Pender.
The Bohemians full-back misplaced his back pass towards his own goal, which forced Supple to scamper back in an attempt to clear it off his line. But he could only find Boyle, who had the time to settle himself to slide past the helpless goalkeeper.
Keith Long’s team had their fair share of possession but were lacking conviction in attack and were restricted to a couple of long-range efforts from debutant Jamie Doyle in the first period.
Five minutes after the resumption, Boyle added to his tally. He showed his pace and strength to easily shrug off Oscar Brennan on the inside right channel before finishing through the legs of Supple.
Corcoran then gave the Gypsies a lifeline as he manufactured space in the box to finish expertly to the corner. They thought they had pulled another back moments later as Doyle jumped with Gerard Doherty for a cross, before nodding down to Georgie Poynton to tap into an empty net. However, the striker was deemed to have impeded the Derry goalkeeper.
But Bohs’ chances of getting back into the game were over soon after as Boyle’s pace was evident again. He took advantage of some poor defending to race through on goal, with Supple only able to parry into the path of the onrushing Lukas Schubert, who scrambled the ball over the line seconds after coming on.
Jarvis and Boyle missed chances to make it five late on but it mattered little as Derry ran out comfortable winners.
Bohemians: Shane Supple; Derek Pender, Dan Byrne, Oscar Brennan, Lorcan Fitzgerald; Paddy Kavanagh, Ian Morris, Keith Ward (Kaleem Simon, 62), Georgie Poynton; Jamie Doyle (Philip Gannon, 79), Dinny Corcoran.
Derry City: Gerard Doherty; Conor McDermott, Ryan McBride, Dean Jarvis, Ben Doherty (Scott Whiteside, 68); Nicky Low, Aaron McEneff, Josh Daniels (Lukas Schubert, 64), Barry McNamee, Ryan Curtis; Rory Patterson (Nathan Boyle, 28).
Referee: Paul McLaughlin